


The Assistant

by sofiedubois



Category: Bodyguard (TV 2018), Game of Thrones (TV), Real Person Fiction, Rocketman (2019), Rocketman (2019) RPF
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Smut, London, Work, Workplace Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:07:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 77,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23668123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sofiedubois/pseuds/sofiedubois
Summary: Little did I know how my life would could change so muc when I replied to that job offering.  How it would lead to all of this and the most wonderful guy in the world.But let’s start at the beginning first of this story on how I became the assistant.
Relationships: Richard Madden/Original Female Character(s), Richard Madden/Reader
Comments: 5
Kudos: 38





	1. Haven’t Met You Yet – Michael Bublé

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic that I'm writing so please have mercy ;-)  
> I'm using my own name as I feel the most comfortable with that. But this is no my fantasy that I'm writing out just something for fun during these boring corona quarantine.

Little did I know how my life would could change so muc when I replied to that job offering. How it would lead to all of this and the most wonderful guy in the world.

But let’s start at the beginning first of this story on how I became the assistant. 

On a dreary weekday I had email from my linkedin account that I had a new message entitled job offering. As per usual I totally forgot about opening it and finally realized it a couple of days later and took a peek. 

It was an email from Ms Anna Greene , she works at an recruitment agency in London who had looked at my profile and were interested in offering me a job. They mentioned that it would be a different role then what I was used to do but that they would explain it in a skype call if I were interested. It would be for minimum a year with a possible prolongation and I would have to move to London. 

Since I always had loved London and almost moved to the city years earlier that wouldn’t hold me back. So I replied to their message and excused myself for replying so late. Quite immediately I had a reply back to set up a date and time for the skype call. They were going to do a formal chat then , test my skills and explain everything then.

The day came for the meeting for which I had been quite nervous like for any job interview. Especially not knowing for what kind of job I was applying for didn’t make the nerves get less. The meeting started and I finally got to meet Mrs Greene.

“Good afternoon Ms Greene , it is very nice to meet you.” I said in the camera to a woman barely a couple of years older than me.

“Anna, please call me Sofie. Yes I had a good day until now just a bit nervous at the moment but that is all.”

“I can imagine it you being nervous for this meeting” she smiled at me “But please don’t be as this is more an informal chat. So the reason we contacted you is because we have seen your skills and resume on your linkedin account and got interested in you. The job we are offering is somewhat different then what you have done until now but we are sure you have the necessary skills for it.”

Still feeling nervous cause I had no clue what kind of job it was I asked her: “So can you please tell me more about it?”

“We are looking for a personal assistant for one our clients based in London.” She said straight to the point.

“Personal assistant ?” I asked surprised. “ But I’m a senior business travel consultant at the moment and have been all of my working career”.

Ms Greene could sense my uneasiness. “ Don’t worry about it. Your day to day job would involve already most of what you do now and some additional ones which is part of being a PA. Like manage a calendar , pick up laundry , shopping ,… but it will depend a bit on what the boss wants.”

“Okay” I hesitated “That is something totally different but still feels familiar to my current job.”

“The reason why we contacted you is because you have a broad language package which is very useful in the job. I do have to ask you a personal question which might seem a bit uncomfortable to reply too. What is your relationship status ? As you will understand this can’t be combined with a husband or children? “ Ms Greene explained and asked at the same time.

I chuckled a bit at myself before replying “I’m single and unattached so no need to worry about that.”

With that reply Ms Greene smiled “That is a very positive thing and will help us go further with this. However I do have to warn you for something Sofie. Never mix business with pleasure. Whoever is your boss you have to maintain a level of professionalism too.”

“I totally understand that Anna, that is the golden rule to abide too. “

“At the moment Sofie we are still talking to several candidates and we will get back to you very soon with our final decision” Ms Greene said very honestly.

“Sure not a thing I wasn’t expecting to hear the decision today. However I do have some more questions but that is more legal things due to taxes , health care etc… “

“Put all of your question on an e-mail and I will get someone to look them up and provide you with all the replies. If you wish to accept the offer please know we will take care of everything both for the UK and where you live now. We don’t want you to worry about anything and just be able to do your job the best you can. The name of the client you will hear once contracts and the NDA has been signed ” 

The meeting went on a little bit further with some minor details to be talked about. I informed her that every 3 months I had to go back home for a day due to a medical issue. Thinking this might end my chances with the application but didn’t wanted to hold information behind and just be honest up front. Ms Green promised me that this wouldn’t be an issue if I could just put on my e-mail a short resume of what the medical issue was. She said she appreciated my honesty and promised me it wouldn’t jeopardize my chances at all. I would hear back from her as soon as possible once the decision had been taken if were good or bad news. 

Once the call ended it took me a good couple of minutes to process everything and let it sink in. I had never seen myself having the qualities for being a PA but somehow they had seen them in me. Yes I was managing my own house life for a good number of years all on my own anyway already so it might work out. After some more thoughts decided to write my e-mail to Ms Greene with my history and all of my questions I had.

I decided to call my best friend Evi and told her everything all of what happed. I needed to talk to somebody about it or I would explode. She knew me so well and was the one person who could help with believing in it and seeing the positive side to it. We were going to keep our fingers crossed hoping for some good news in the end. 

The agency kept their word and I got fairly quickly a reply to all of my questions. I read through them and was relieved to read that there was a structure they could set up that would comply with all the laws and taxes of both countries. Now it was just getting the job that would be the final hurdle to pass.

I didn’t hear anything anymore for a good couple of weeks with made me think I hadn’t managed in getting it. Until one day while I was at work I got a phone call from Ms Greene. They were offering me the job and they were going to send me a full offer with all terms and conditions together with a contract and NDA via e-mail already and a copy via courier that I had to sign. Once they got this back the move would be set up and I would finally hear the name of my new boss.

That same evening I went to visit my best friend packed with a good bottle of alcohol to celebrate the good news. This was something we often did on a dateless Saturday evening enjoy a good glass of alcohol and gossiping. And this was the thing I was going to miss the most when I moved. 

“But what if I’m not able to do this job” I whined but with a slight slur “ We work in tourism that is a whole other level then being PA to a celeb”.”

“What have we said before already to each other at work? Being a business travel consultant is like being a PA. The difference that you don’t usually have to pick the laundry of our clients which they would gladly have us do too if they could.” Evi said with a laugh.

And it was true what she said. People often thought our job was all glamour , holidays and stress free. In fact it was the other way around and business travelers are very high demanding diva’s at times. How many phone calls we have had just because they didn’t wanted to wait in line with all the normal people to get their ticket changed due to a flight cancellation. I had jokingly said already to Evi that if they could get us to wipe their butts after a toilet visit they would ask that too.

“I know you are right and I can do this job I can feel that in my gut. But somehow I have this feeling that I won’t be capable enough.”

Evi laughed “That my dear they call self-confidence and self believe. You can do it that I’m 100% sure and you will be the best at it too. You just have to believe in yourself more. That boss of yours should be happy and glad that they got you as their PA.”

I sighed “ I know I know I know I am my own worst enemy. It is because it is so out of my comfort zone that I feel like this.”

“Just go for it and give it your best shot. Then you can’t say that you didn’t try it when it doesn’t work out”

Evi always had a way in boosting my self-confidence and made me laugh at the same time. 

“Do you know who it is your new boss ? “ she asked curiously.

“Nope I will get that name later on when all the paper work is finished. I don’t care who it is although I might have some struggles with certain celebrities more then with others.”

Evi had to laugh cause she knew exactly what I meant with that. 

“Just keep the mantra going then focus Du Bois focus and you will be fine. As long as you keep me in the loop of what is happening.” She joked and tried to wink. Due to the already consumed alcohol it was a bit like a blink.

“Don’t you worry about that. You will hear me as much as during our corona marathon chats of Say Yes to the Dress. We maybe apart but I won’t forget you I promise” and with that I got a bit teary eyed. 

“Oh don’t make it atmospheric in here now.” she said and laughed. The comment came from our last Scotland trip where the guide used atmospheric as a euphemism for the pissing rain there. Ever since we had been using it ourselves too. “Let’s get even more drunk and watch some rubbish movie now.”

The documents and NDA were signed and delivered back to the agency within a couple of days of receiving them as I had already gotten a draft via e-mail. Ms Greene contacted me again to arrange the details about my move like transportation etc…. We agreed I would take the Eurostar a week later to London as this was the easiest for me and would allow the most luggage too. They would e-mail me my ticket and the details about my employer 2 days prior to my departure.

With the time to kill I arranged everything with the gas, water , electricity company for my house. Had a nice farewell dinner with my parents who were sad that I was leaving the country but together also happy with this opportunity. They had always known that one day I would leave ever since I did my internship in Egypt and left for 4 months. Packing 2 suitcases to take with me now that was another matter. 

I couldn’t decide what to take with me even though I had been given a list by Ms Greene what were the basics that were necessary. I took a bit of everything with me regarding shoes and clothes so I was prepared for anything. London was only a 2 hour train away by Eurostar and on a day or weekend off I could come back for more. Books or DVD’s I didn’t pack as I had loaded loads on my ipad and laptop and was going to take these with me. Besides that I only packed a few little objects that were vital for me and would provide me with the right kind sense of home. I just wished they would be enough to not make me feel alone or lonely over there.

Then came the day when I was going to get all of my final details and information including the name of my boss. I was nervous all day and checked my e-mail regularly. It was around 5:30pm the e-mail from Ms Anna Greene popped up. I sat down and took a deep breath before opening it. There was some chit chat from Anna to reassure me and 2 attachments. I opened the first one and saw immediately my Eurostar ticket , it was first class business premier ticket so that was a rather fancy way of travelling. There was a second attachment also: it was a word document with the name and address of my new boss. The address was from an area in London that I knew a bit, Primrose Hill was a high end neighborhood with a nice big park. Evi and I already went to the park a couple of times when we visited London to just sit down on a bench and enjoy everything surrounding us. 

Then my eyes caught the name of my employer and my mouth just dropped: Mr Richard Madden. Yes I knew who he was cause I had seen his movies and series multiple times, he wasn’t a complete stranger to me. Di Medici was still a series that I could only see in bits and pieces as binge watching was not on the table with that one. Evi and I have had some conversations in the past where we had discussed him and his features in detail which I now wanted to erase completely. She was going to have a field day with this and tease the hell out of me. I decided there and then that I was going to be a professional and do my job like I was supposed to be. But I knew that I was going to have to use that mantra a lot internally.

On the day of my departure I took the train from my hometown to catch the Eurostar that would probably change my life forever. Managing 2 suitcases , a backpack and handbag was a bit difficult but I managed to get it all on the train thanks to the Eurostar staff. 

When the train departed I had one last look at the station and said to myself “There is no way back now.” A couple of tears appeared and as she had sensed it Evi started to bombard me with funny gifs and innuendos. I had to tell her the name of my boss and boy did she love it. Ever since she had found out she was teasing me about it. I didn’t mind cause it made me laugh and I knew her weak spots too so I just reversed it. 

I put my headphones on , started the ipod function on my phone flipped through a playlist and picked ‘Haven’t Met You Yet’ and could hear the sweet crooner voice of Michael Bublé in my ears. With that the landscape started to change and just a couple of hours later I would hear . ‘Ladies and Gentlemen , welcome to London St Pancras’ and my new adventure would start. Finally getting to meet my new boss and hopefully get along with him.


	2. For Your Eyes Only – Sheena Easton

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of the story where I finally meet the boss but things don't go that well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments good or bad if you want :-)  
> There is some mild swearing in it.
> 
> This is a fictional piece of work just to be clear.

As I got from the train I did start to get a bit anxious at what was going to happen soon. Coming out of the Eurostar terminal I made my way to the taxi stand and queued with my suitcases and all of my things. As if they felt it was going to be a stressful day for me it took forever to get to the front of the line. Finally I grabbed a taxi and gave him the address. During the ride which took forever in my experience so many things popped up in my head. All bad things off course getting worse and worse by the time we arrived in the street.

It was a quiet residential street in Primrose Hill. We stopped in front of a white townhouse with a dark blue door and 2 small steps. I paid the driver and asked a receipt as I could claim it via the recruitment agency. I opened the taxi door , took a deep breath , ready to plunge into the deep when I heard a female voice saying my name.

‘Hi Sofie , so glad to see you have made it.’ She said very sincerely.

‘Oh Anna , so glad to finally meet you. I did arrive safely and all in one piece.’ I said somewhat surprised.

Anne Greene was not the person I was expecting to see greeting at the door but at least it was a friendly face to see. She must have seen the surprised expression on my face as she continued.

‘I know you weren’t expecting me but Richard is in meetings all day today. So It seemed best that I came to meet you and give you everything and some explanations.’ She spoke very calmly. ‘Maybe we should get you inside , get a coffee and we can go through it all?’

Finally I snapped out of my daze: ‘Yeah, that would be great. Gives me a bit more time to prepare myself too at what is too come.’ I admitted to her.

Anna took one of the suitcases while I took everything else and went inside of my new home for the next 12 months at least. We dropped everything in the hallway and made our way into the living area. When Anna is gone later I could have a decent look around so for now I followed her into the dining area and took a seat at the table.

‘Do you want coffee or tea?’ Anna asked me.

‘Coffee for me please. I’m not so very fond of tea anymore which I did use to like before’ I admitted to her.

She came over with 2 mugs of coffee , some milk and sugar or sweetener. I liked it already that there was the choice between sugar and sweetener as I tried to cut back on my sugar dose. Which I was sometimes failing miserably. Anna started with her explanation which took quite some time and contained a lot of information.

‘So let me get through what I have to give you: here is a key to the house and also the code for the alarm. You will need these a lot so memorize them as quickly as possible and don’t forget them. Also a cell phone to be used for business purposes , for personal you can use your own phone. Just sent us the bill each month so we can repay you. In the office which I will show you in a bit , there is the charger , a laptop and smaller items waiting for you. If you need anything else like office supplies just buy them and sent the receipts to me each month…’

I was just sitting there trying to get this all in my head which was spinning around at a 100 miles per hour to get round it all. And I felt like her explanation wasn’t finished yet and it wasn’t.

She continued while handing me an envelope ‘in there is a debit card you can use for taxi’s , tube , busses , just day to day payments which are linked to your expense account and also a credit card for any other or bigger expenses. Unless you go completely nuts with both of them you are fine to use them and don’t need to worry. ‘

I took the envelope and had a look in it to see indeed 2 cards in there.

‘Are there also instructions and pin codes with them?’ I asked her a bit anxious ‘ Cause I know how the system works back home but don’t know if it the same here.’

‘Yes, all instructions and pin codes are included.’ She replied smiling at me ‘don’t worry about anything it is the same way as what you are used to. In case you need to make big payments for Richard you can use your card and he will let us know.’

With that I finally let go of my breath which I had been keeping all this time it appears.

‘I know it is a lot to get used to and absorb but I’m a 100% sure you will do a great job.’ She comforted while taking my hand and gave a small squeeze in it.

‘Okay we are nearly through the bad things and then I will show a bit around and leave to give you some time on your own. The house rules you will have to discuss with Richard when you meet him as that is his terrain. Oh yes before I forget here is also a pass for the gym nearby which you can use fully. Tomorrow you better first have a look at what the previous assistant left behind. As far as I could understand it was quite a mess so that gym membership could come in handy already.’

‘Sure cleaning up messes that I’m used to it by now already. Nothing can be worse than a volcano eruption in Iceland.’ I replied laughing.

‘Good to see you are thinking positive things and stop worrying. It might seem a lot now to take in but you will get through it. We have covered everything that is needed to start with. If I have forgotten something or so then I will let you know via e-mail. Now let’s show you around a bit. Oh yes, tomorrow you will be called by Elliott from Troika. He will be your main contact from the agent side and you will get on great. ’

With that we washed out our cups and started the tour around the house. Anna showed me the office where I would be working most of the time when we weren’t on location or on a press tour. It was a nice , clean and bright office with all the necessary furnishings not too crowded. It had a desk with a comfortable chair it seemed and also another chair in front of it. There were some cupboards but all just the basic thing. Although having a Golden Globe sitting on your desk isn’t what I normally have on my desk as an ornament.

Anna took me upstairs to the third floor and showed me my room with ensuite. Since it was the entire upper floor I had a nice double bed , a decent size wardrobe , even a cozy couch and a television for myself. The ensuite had a single wash basin , toilet and a massive walk in shower. What is that with these fancy houses and their massive walk in showers I wondered. We went back downstairs and said our goodbyes in the hallway.

‘If there is anything or any questions then please don’t hesitate to contact me via e-mail or phone.’ Anna told me before she went out through the front door.

There I was standing in the hallway with my 2 suitcases , backpack and my courage that just reached rock bottom. Why on earth had I said yes to this? In trying to pick myself up a bit I took a seat on the stairs , took out my phone send a message to Evi.

<< I arrived safely in my new crib :-). The boss man wasn’t here so I met Anna. But wonder did I do the right thing by accepting this? Seriously doubting<<

I saw that she was online so her reply followed fairly quickly.

<<Good god woman pick yourself up and go for it. I know you can do this and will kickass at it too. Too bad the boss man isn’t there but you will meet him soon. How is the new crib going? ;-) <<

<<It is fancy shmancy and in a good neighborhood , there is the park nearby where I can go for a run , got a gym badge. And a pile of shit it appears left by the previous assistant.<<

<<Well we have gone though much worse things than that remember corona ? Just settle in today and try to relax tonight and I’m here to talk. And if necessary kick some self confidence in you LOL<<

Even with a couple of messages she cheered me up and get me charged for it all again. Now the part I dreaded even more then meeting the boss was getting those suitcases upstairs. I took me some time and a couple of breaks but they got up there eventually. I took my time to unpack them and find a place for everything which seemed now in the wardrobe as not a lot. Out of my backpack I took my little nick nacks from home and gave them a little place. Hopefully they could get me a bit of a feeling of being home.

Decided to venture in my bathroom to have a proper look around and found nice fluffy towels for me to use. Installed all my products and gave my medication a place cause that was very important. If someone saw me they would think I robbed a pharmacy but it was vital to me and had become a part of me. I arranged my products around until each had a logical place for me.

I finally decided to go back downstairs and passed by the first floor which contained 2 doors which I presumed was his bedroom and bathroom. I entered the sitting room again and had a look around. For being a man’s house it was surprisingly cozily decorated. There was a big comfy couch with some blankets draped on it , a chunky coffee table with some magazines on like GQ,… a big television set in a corner. There was also a fireplace which seemed to work so it would nicely warm in here during the winter. On the mantelpiece were some family photos on and the GQ Man of the Year Award. So he did appear to be a bit vain if you show this one off and not the Golden Globe.

I noticed a stereo set and some cd’s in another corner : EDM music , classical , crooners with off course Frank Sinatra,.. so in music taste we had similar things so no fighting possible with that. Also were some books lying around which were a lot sci-fi what isn’t my big thing although I do like some of them. Luckily I had my own books stored on my kindle upstairs.

The kitchen was compact but fitted with all appliances necessary. That was something I needed to check for sure with Richard how food and fridge would work and also the grocery shopping. I hadn’t seen a fridge upstairs so I presume I could use the main one. Further back was a small laundry room with a washer and dryer set.

It did feel strange to be in a stranger’s house and going to live there for 12 months but at least it was somewhere I could maybe start to feel like home. For now I needed to some space and fresh air which I could easily find in the park nearby. Plus I needed to buy something to eat this evening anyway. With the code in my trembling hands I secured the house , locked the door and off I went on my adventure.

Opening google maps I had seen that there was a small Sainsbury’s at a 10 minute walk but it was open until late so went to the park first. I had been to it several times so it felt so familiar when I got there. I decided to sit down for a while and watch what was happening in there. As it was a sunny day there were loads of people walking their dogs all big and small. If I ever get the chance then I would love to have another dog too but that wouldn’t be possible for the next year anyway. There was a black labrador who was playing nearby that came running up to me as if he felt my need and dropped his ball in my lap. I threw it away and saw him running after it. It felt so good and enjoyable to see it happening.

I looked at my watch as my stomach made some noises and decided to visit the shop I had seen on maps. I quickly grabbed my things and made my way to it. I browsed around a bit and as I wasn’t all that hungry so grabbed a nice salad , a small bread roll , a can of cola zero , 2 bottles of water and also the supplies for breakfast tomorrow morning. I hadn’t dared yet to open the cupboards or fridge so had no clue what was in them. Since I hadn’t read the instructions for the card I just paid cash for everything. As I got back to the house I was so nervous to do the alarm again but I got green lights so I was happy. Installed myself at the dining room table after I had dropped all the other stuff first upstairs and had my dinner quietly while sending messages to Evi to kill time.

As I was cleaning up my mess and putting it all in the bin I heard the front door opening. Giving me a small shock that made my heart race a bit because I would finally meet my boss and get an idea what kind of person he really is. Is it just a façade he puts up or is he genuinely as nice as he seem in interviews? I heard he was talking to someone so I presumed he was talking on the telephone and it appeared not to be going great.

As he entered the living room and spotted me he sighed ‘Well I have to let you go know I have something else to deal with first. I will call you later’ he said in that thick Scottish accent of his.

He looked at me with those blue eyes showing little to no emotion except maybe annoyance.

‘I see you have made it here that is already good but now we have to set some house rules you have to abide too if we want this to work. ’ he spoke very coldly. It took me by surprise not that I had expected a hug but a bit of a friendlier greeting was not too much to ask for. Before I could put a word in between he just continued.

‘There are a few empty shelves in the fridge for you to store any perishables - but please keep in mind that we're both using this fridge, so make sure it doesn't smell like something died in there like some of those stink cheeses. ‘ I just nodded at this as that was the only thing I felt I could do. He went into the kitchen and pointed.

‘These two cabinets are all yours too - do not use any of the others. if we both keep to our own space this might work. I see you already cleaned up your mess, so please keep doing so. Same with the living room which you may only use when I’m not at home otherwise you can use yours upstairs. I do have a housekeeper that comes in once a week, but she’s not here to clean up after you.’ I just gulped and tried to take in as much as possible because he kept on rattling one rule after the other.

‘Should you decide to have people over the living room is off limits, no discussion, and also I need to be informed in advance as to who they are, when they are coming, with how many and for how long. I don't want to come home from a day of filming to find this place an utter mess and clean your shit up. Oh and most importantly, no dates are to be brought here - ever! As you are might aware there are paparazzi lurking constantly in the bushes so I don’t want any picture of that in the newspapers. You may play your own music I don’t mind but not so loud that the whole neighbourhood can bloody hear it. This is still a quiet residential part and we would like to keep it to.’

As I finally thought he had finished and wanted to say something myself ‘So …’ a new avalanche came rushing towards me.

‘You might have noticed that there is a washer and dryer available for you to use. We are going to be using this also both so just make sure I don’t find your knickers in there and I will make sure you won’t find anything in there of mine. I want to stress that whatever you might see happening in this house you may never ever tell anybody about it. If I find out things are being leaked to the tabloids you will be back very fast on the first Eurostar back home, everything here is for your eyes only. Also the rooms on the first floor are completely forbidden for you! Unless I specifically ask you to get something from there. Did I make myself clear on this? These are non-negotiable and if you can’t hold up to them then this will be finished before it has started.’ He looked at me with a gaze that could easily kill somebody so I tried to find my voice again.

‘Yes, I have totally understood it , it is all crystal clear sir’ was the only thing that I could think of at that specific moment. 

‘Concerning your job I assume you've been informed by Anna with the main tasks like arranging my schedule and making the necessary arrangements? ‘

‘Yes, she has explained me and told me Eliott was going to call me tomorrow morning so we could talk and go through it all.’

‘Good if you keep up to your end of the bargain then it will be easiest for the both of us. Now if you will excuse me.’ With that he turned around , took his phone again and went into the office slamming the door shut.

I stayed in my chair for another couple of minutes trying to digest what just had happened. This hadn’t gone at all the way I had imagined it to be. Even more Richard didn’t seem to be person who I thought he would be. I don’t know what disappointed me the most of all that had happened the past 10 minutes or so. At least this way he made it very easy to stay professional with him. I realised we hadn’t talked about working hours or days off. Still slightly gobsmacked I made my way up to my room and put my pyjamas on. I grabbed my phone and saw that Evi had messaged me.

<< So have you met the boss? Is he as dishy in reality? How was he?<<

I took my time to reply to her and kept restarting my message but in the end decided to tell her the truth.

<<Well basically he is a dickhead first class. He got home quite angrily , bombarded me with a list of rules and was just plain a douche.<<

<<Oh no he didn’t really ??? that I never had expected him to be like <<

<< Didn’t even bother to ask me how I was or if the travel was okay , don’t even know if he knows my name. Just stomped in , gave me the list and left. He really disappointed me on all levels. This is going to be a long year.<<

<<I’m sorry to hear that but just try to think positive about is going to come. You will get so much experience out of this. And at the end of the year you just leave him.<<

<<yes, you are right I have to see it that way.<<

<<No need to worry about your mantra now anymore do you ? ;-) he made that easy for you.<<

<<That is true , it is strictly professional from now on. I just do my job , obey his rules and that’s it. Just give me a mop and bucket and call me Cinderella :-)<<

<<Did you need subtitles when he gave you that list? Don’t let it keep you not sleeping tonight. Get into that office tomorrow and proof how good you are and he won’t know what hit him<<

<<hahaha you are so funny , no subtitles where needed btw. I will try to relax a bit before going to bed and hopefully tomorrow will be less eventful<<

<<I’m always here you know just sent me a text , never forget me ? ;-) <<

<<How can I forget my BFF? Once I cleared it with the ogre you can come over for a weekend and we have a girls weekend.<<

With that we finished our conversation and I settled into bed. Knowing I needed my rest for another day of battle tomorrow I took my playlist out and hit shuffle. Oh the irony of it all was that it decided to play the Bond theme from Sheena Easton ‘For Your Eyes Only’. At least it made me smile a bit while taking my kindle and have a bit of read contemplating on the events of today and tomorrow.


	3. Absolute Beginners – David Bowie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story continues ....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 is up and contains some mild swearing
> 
> Have fun !!!

I woke up the next morning after a sleepless night from all the tossing and turning I had done. The whole situation from the night before kept on popping up in my mind over and over again. I was dreading to see Richard if I was being honest. More out of fear of what would come more than actually see him. Finally I dragged my butt out of my bed and took a shower cold enough to wake me up. When I looked into the mirror I saw the bags under my eyes but didn’t care, just prepared myself like every day I would be doing. Walked over to wardrobe and took out my normal kind of uniform: skinny jeans, a top ,a fluffy cardigan and some biker boots. If I needed to kick some butts then best with the correct pairs of shoes on. I took my phone with me and made my way downstairs.

While passing by the first floor I didn’t hear any noises so assumed Richard was still asleep or maybe out for a run. In the kitchen I took all of my necessary supplies from the cupboard and fridge to make my breakfast. As per usual I made a mix of yoghurt, an apple and some granola , all together mixed with a nice cup of hot coffee. I sat down at the dining table and took my time to eat. I looked at my phone and saw that Evi had texted me already.

<<Kick some ass today !!! J. You can do it I know you can. Show the ogre who he is dealing with.<<

She always had a way to motivate me and knew when it was necessary to give my self-confidence a boost. I quickly replied to her.

<<thanks babe , knew I could count on you. Just finished breakfast and now off to the trenches<<

I cleaned up after myself and put all of my things in the dishwasher , grabbed myself a bottle of water and made my way into the office. As I closed the door and sat down behind the desk I could hear the front door open and someone going up the stairs. So he had been out for a run before just as I thought so. Made me wonder if he would come into the office today to check up on me or not.

I fired up the laptop that was in front of me , took some pens and paper so I could write down memo’s or messages if there were any. I was so immersed in going through the programs that were on there that I nearly missed the footsteps again on the stairs but this time coming down. I waited to see if the door would be opened but nothing happened. So I kept on concentrating on the programs as some were completely new to me and others were just like second nature. I wanted to spend enough time on them to familiarize myself as they were important. Especially the one that linked the agenda’s all together and would automatically synch them. I had received on my personal e-mail some manuals that I could use so got myself busy with them.

I was so concentrated on it all that when my phone started to ring I jumped nearly out of my seat. Checked my caller ID and saw that it was Elliott from Troika.

I picked it up rather hesitantly ‘Hi Elliott , this is Sofie. Hope you are doing well , it is nice to hear you.

‘Hi Sofie , I’m doing and it is very nice to hear you too. I see that Anna had already informed you I was going to call you?’ he said very cheerful.

‘Yes, she mentioned it yesterday but hadn’t said a specific time. I’m still sifting through the programs so haven’t looked at anything else yet. Sorry’ I apologized.

He assured me ‘Don’t worry about it. I know how difficult some of these things are so if you need a help with it or have questions then just call me and I will talk you through it. But maybe we can go through the questions you have already at the end of it all?’

‘Thanks Elliott, I really appreciate it.’ This made me feel a bit reassured at least. ‘So tell me there were some things you wanted to talk me about?’ I enquired while taking my pen and paper out.

‘Well , there are indeed some things that we need to discuss. If you could open up the e-mail I have sent you it is easier.’

‘Just a second I will take it and have a quick read.’

I quickly opened the e-mail that Elliott had sent me and saw the list of things he had mentioned.

‘Yes , I have read it. Anna mentioned yesterday that the previous assistant had left quite a mess of things and it would take some time to get it straight.’

‘A mess that is an understatement’ Elliott said while smirking. ‘It is a little catastrophe if you ask me , don’t know why she got the job in the first place. Every time I talked to her I had the feeling as if I was talking to a goldfish.’

I spit out my water that I was drinking and started to laugh.

‘Elliott , stop it please. I just christened the laptop with my water thanks to you.’ Still laughing and I could hear his laughter through the phone. ‘And you can thank you lucky stars that it was the laptop and not the Golden Globe.’

‘Does he still keep that on the desk then?’

‘Yes, you can be sure of that. It is the fanciest desk ornament I ever have had. Thank god I didn’t spit my water on it. Now let’s get back to that list.’

For the next 40 minutes we went through the list and all the actions that needed to be taken to get them done. The previous PA had indeed left a mess so many appointments on incorrect dates , even some flight tickets incorrectly booked not only dates but even the name. The list seemed endless and would probably take me a good couple of days to get it all corrected while dealing with all the new requests as we were getting closer to the Eternals première too. Elliott reminded me that I had to book the same flights for myself as Richard’s as I was going along on the press tour. The hotels he had already taken care off since they just required my name and not my date of birth. For the flights he said I could book in premium economy instead of just economy since we would spent a lot of hours on them. As we got through it all Elliott took some time to answer my most urgent questions I had already regarding the planning , programs etc..

In total we spent roughly 2 hours on the phone luckily I had plugged my earphones in so it didn’t have a crooked neck at least. I checked regularly if I had any messages or e-mail from the boss himself. But it was all quiet on the western front , didn’t know if that was a positive or negative sign. At the end of the business talk Elliott and I exchanged some personal things so we could get to know each other a bit since we were going to be in close contact all the time. For day to day small stuff we could use the Teams chat box instead of calling.

‘So you arrived yesterday morning then?’ Elliott asked.

‘Took the Eurostar at 08:00am and got into London by 10:00am. Once I arrived at the house Anna was waiting for me with all the necessary information and keys as Richard was in meetings all day yesterday.’

‘Yes, he was here all day in the office with Conor and Sam discussing some future projects and all. It didn’t go all too well I’m afraid. There were a lot of volume exchanges and serious long distance calls involved.’ He mentioned.

‘I noticed it last night as I had to bear the burden.’ I let slip and felt guilty directly. ‘ So sorry , I didn’t mean to say that. Forget you have heard it.’

‘Oh Sof, don’t worry I won’t go around telling it to anybody. You can trust me , promise you it will stay between just us. I totally understand you all too well. I have been in your position and if you can’t tell someone about it you won’t be able to do this job for long. So guessing by you reaction your meeting wasn’t a success then?’

‘No, you can say that again. He arrived and looked really annoyed by the fact that I was even there to begin with. Which is strange cause I guess he was involved in the process. He then started to pounding me with the house rules but it wasn’t the rules in itself just the way he enforced them. I felt like the earth would open up and swallow me , like a kid that was summand to the headmaster’s office . He totally wasn’t the person I thought he would be.‘ I sighed.

‘Remembering the state he was in when he left here all frustrated and wired I can already imagine how he was when you met him. But I can assure you that is not the real Rich you have met last night. He is the friendliest and kindest person you can ever meet. So please give him another chance before you make your final judgement. I’m pretty sure he feels already bad for the way he behaved yesterday but it will take some time before he is willing to admit it.’ Elliott explained.

‘I hear what you are saying Elliott but I don’t know , he was very harsh yesterday. I didn’t wanted to start our working relationship like this , I was just expecting some kind of mutual respect. Not like we had to start with a warm friendship straight away but not this cold distant attitude either.’

‘Totally get you and would feel the same if Connor had treated me like that the first day I started to work for him. But believe me he is a good guy and if you do your work to your maximum he is a very loyal employer and maybe possibly a close friend too. Please just give him a chance to apologize and maybe start all over again.’ Elliott pleaded slightly.

‘Let me think about it for now and first get used to all this mayhem. Once I feel like I have settled in and am comfortable with it all I will see about maybe that second chance. But he has to apologize first.’

‘Yes, progress ! I do still have my magic touch then. ’ Elliott laughed into the phone and made me laugh too. ‘Well , I’m going to let you finish now and get through the goldfish’s catastrophe. But I will be on Teams all day so any question just shoot them.’

‘haha , I will do that Elliott. Talk to you later then’ I said to him and disconnected the call.

I checked my watch as my stomach was growling and noticed it was lunch time. I hadn’t noticed that time had flown by so quickly. My conversation with Elliott stuck with me and made me think did I jump too soon to my conclusion and more important should I give Richard another chance or not? If indeed he was so frustrated as Elliott said then it could explain a bit what had happened. But it wasn’t an excuse to treat me like that either.

As I walked into the kitchen I noticed that there were no other noises in the house so I guess he had left without me noticing or during my phone call. The agenda hadn’t mentioned any appointments or anything so it was a personal one then. But that agenda was such a mess that there might have been one without it being in there to start with. I took my lunch break while on checking my phone for a bit and replying to some messages from my parents and other friends. I did send a quick message to Evi too.

<<I have survived the first half of the day. Don’t feel like an elephant in a china shop anymore at least<<

<<So it went fine then? Did you see the ogre? <<

<<No, I did hear him round the house but didn’t pop in. According to Elliott he had a bad day yesterday and was so frustrated.<<

<<Might be the case but didn’t excuse his behavior towards you anyway.<<

<<I know but Elliott asked to give him another chance as he is genuinely nice and friendly.<<

<<Are you going to do that then?<<

<<Don’t know yet but first he will need to apologize to start with. Going to start working again talk to you later.<<

<<Talk to you later.<<

I finished my lunch, cleaned the dining table and threw my waste away. While filling up the dishwasher I noticed it was full so started the cleaning cycle and could empty it later. Grabbed myself a can of coke zero and made my way back into the office. The rest of the afternoon I just dove in the trying to solve a bit of the mess from the goldfish and adding the new things into the agenda. I found a copy of Richards flights for the press tour and was glad to find them booked correctly. So I just booked my own flights and paid by using the Troika card as they then charged it to Disney. According to Elliott the same happened with the hotels , I just had to show my credit card so they could charge a deposit on it for extra’s.

Correcting the other booked tickets for later dates were on the list to do the next few days anyway as I needed to double check them first with Elliott. Him and I chatted a couple of times in the afternoon sometimes just to check in if the other side was still alive. By the time it was 6pm I was knackered, hardly feeling my neck and shoulders anymore from crouching all day behind the laptop. With all the mess that was left behind I hadn’t taken any breaks besides bathroom ones. But I was happy with the progress I had made today already and a big part of the agenda was now corrected. The press tour promised to be a hard and tiring one. The last thing I did was to send an email to Anna who had checked in on how I was doing. I didn’t mention anything about the situation of the evening before. Elliott and I said our final goodbyes for the night and I closed the laptop.

I felt the need to unwind a bit from all the information thrown all day at me and to get the tension, stiffness out of my crooked neck and shoulders I decided to give the gym a try. The weather wasn’t too great to go for a run and it was getting dark too. Went upstairs to change into my work out gear and packed my sports bag. I took all the basic things I needed , tried not to forget both of my phones as I needed them both. Leaving the house I turned all the lights off , put the alarm on and locked the house. If Richard would be back by the time I returned from the gym then I would see it immediately.

The gym wasn’t too far away from the house and had all the latest new gym equipment you could imagine. As it was my first time I got a full tour by one of the personal trainers called Ian. He explained me that a personal trainer was included into my membership so he went on with a whole of questions about my training regime , what kind fitness had I done , if I did something else for sports besides going to gym , nutrition etc…

Together we made a plan totally suited to my body and the parts I wanted to get tighter or more muscle toned plus getting some advice on nutrition all together. The next 60 minutes Ian butchered me on all the machine he had put in the plan to see if they were correctly set up but had some laughs too in between them. At the end of the training I felt completely empty but also so satisfied. We agreed that I would come 3 times a week to the gym to train with him as on the other days it meant I could go for a run or have a day off. This would be the case until I had to leave and then I could try to do my exercises at the hotel’s gyms.

I made my way back to the house so I could have a relaxing and well deserved shower and eat something as by now my stomach was really growling very loudly. As I got closer to the house I could see that everything was still dark so Richard wasn’t home yet. After a very refreshing warm shower massaging the butchered muscles I put on some lounge wear clothes and made my way back to the kitchen. While making some chicken and vegetable dish for dinner I emptied the dishwasher and had a rummage through the cupboards to find where everything had to go. Since I didn’t know when Richard would be back I decided to watch some television in my room instead of the one in the living area.

Due to the bad night’s sleep and the intensive work out I could barely keep my eyes open so decided an early night was really necessary. I did check both of my phones before getting into bed but nothing urgent had come up or any messages from the boss. I fell asleep before my head reached the pillow.

Waking up I felt so much more relaxed and awake then the previous one. As I tried to get out of bed I felt like an 80 year old granny due to some muscles protesting. It took me a bit longer to get ready but once everything was nice and warm the hurt went away quickly and made my way downstairs for breakfast. Passing by the first floor I could hear the shower running so Richard did came home last night not I had heard that as I was out. Prepared my usual boring breakfast and got myself a cup of hot coffee and took my seat at the dining table. I could hear some footsteps coming down so while taking a sip of coffee I prepared myself for what was too come.

‘Good morning Richard.’ I said politely. ‘Hope you had a good night’s sleep.’

Surprised by my presence and tone of voice Richard was startled , went through his hair with his hand and swallowed hard before replying.

‘Good morning Sofie. Yes, I had a good night’s sleep thanks for asking.’ He said in soft voice and a slight ashamed look.

He made his way to the kitchen and started to prepare his breakfast. When he came back to the dining table he had also a cup of coffee , some toast with marmalade and yoghurt with fruit and granola.

He took a sip of coffee and scraped his throat before talking.

‘I want to apologize for the way I behaved the evening you arrived here. There were loads of very frustrating , heated conversations and meetings that day at my agents office but that doesn’t excuse for my jerk like behavior. Believe me the guy you met then is not how I act normally the total douche bag that I was. I shouldn’t have worked my frustrations out on you anyway.’ He said apologetic with a soft look in his eyes.

‘I do have to admit it , it took me by surprise and quite frankly shook me. It weren’t the house rules I’m perfectly fine with them but the way you bombarded them scared me. I felt like I had done something wrong but didn’t know what exactly. Honestly if I could done it I would have ran straight out of the door and never come back.’ I said.

‘Totally understand you I was scared of myself if I’m being honest. The moment I finished the last phone call and could think of what happened. I said to myself: Madden what was that? You behaved like a caveman. You senseless bastard you are. Instead of trying to make the girl feel a bit at home you just did the opposite. Bu I am truly very sorry from the bottom of my heart, believe me. If I could go back I would and change it all.’ He sighed.

I could sense the sincerity of his words and really was deeply sorry for what had happened. Having Elliott’s advice in the back of my mind I decided what the best thing would be now. I’m not the person who forgives quickly but something is his words and manners persuaded me to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe if I did give him a second chance I could finally meet the nice and friendly guy Elliott talked about and try to form a good working relationship with him. Otherwise it might be a very long year ahead of us. We all had are total off days and I seemed to have bumped into him on just one of them.

‘I accept your apology and appreciate your honesty. I understand we all have our completer off days as we are only human. Why don’t we try to forget it did happen and start all over again? Hi my name is Sofie and I’m your new PA. ‘ I smiled at him and reached out my hand.

I could see him visually relax like some weight had been lifted as he gave me a dazzling smile while reaching out his hand too.

‘Hi Sofie , it is very nice to meet you too. My name is Richard, formerly known as Richard the douche bag.’ Which made us both laugh and completely took all tension away.’ Hope you had a pleasant journey getting here?’

‘Yes, I did and really love the neighborhood. You have a very lovely house and thanks for preparing the room upstairs.’

‘Glad you like it and if you need something then let me know and I will make sure you get it. A happy employee makes a happy employer.’ He said and winked. That got me going again and I could feel myself laughing out loud again.

‘Oh god, don’t tell me you are going to throw sentences at me like the ones you can read on an old folks calendars.’ I said when I finally could stop laughing.

‘No, I promise you I won’t do that it just popped up in my head , don’t know where it came from.’ He said while still laughing. ‘I know we haven’t covered some subjects related to work. I’m not going to set fixed working hours so you will have to feel it a bit yourself. It will depend on the day to day things happening. You will have shorter and longer days especially when we leave in a couple of weeks. At the beginning of each week we will try to see when it would suit for a day off if that is okay for you? I just want to warn you that during the Eternals press tour there will be hardly any free time due to all the commitments.’

‘I had sensed that the work times were flexible and I don’t need a fixed day off. But indeed if we could discuss it each week that would be helpful. Then I can maybe plan something to do, try to get some more ground covered of London at least. As for the press tour I’m already preparing myself for that busy period. And who knows it maybe will help me finally be able to sleep on a flight.’

‘Great’ he smiled at. ‘Maybe today we can go through everything that is pending in the office and just get the agenda completed? Tonight I have a private dinner so you can stay downstairs if you want to and watch some television here instead of being cooped upstairs the whole time.’

‘Let’s get cracking on then cause there is a lot of mess to still go through I’m afraid.’ I sighed while getting up.

After clearing everything from the table and loading the dishwasher we made our way into the office. I started the laptop while Richard took the spare chair and sat beside me.

‘Would you mind if I put some music on while working?’ I asked him.

‘No be my guest I can’t bare silence. I need to have some music on all the time , it doesn’t matter what kind just some form of music.’ He admitted.

I opened my web player on my favorite music station back home thinking that he might enjoy it too. They played a mix of old classics and the modern songs with not too much talking which I loved. While we were going through all the pending commitments and the mess left I could hear him hum along with some of the songs from time to time.

Soon it was time for lunch and we could both use a break and try to relax a bit. The radio started to play David Bowie’s Absolute Beginners as we were leaving the office when Richard turned to me and said.

‘You know as an additional apology I want to cook us dinner when we both have a night free in the next few weeks to come.’

Surprised by what he said I just only say ‘Okay, deal.’


	4. I’m too Sexy – Right Said Fred

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We start the Eternals press tour where things go from good to very bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter in the story , it is a bit of a long one but felt had to stay together.  
> Hope you enjoy it , there is some swearing in it and a nice little ending.

The next few weeks were spent in preparing to leave on the Eternals press tour plus premières and it was a lot of work. In the end I had a binder full: divided in each day and location that we were going to visit together with a back-up on my laptop. I finally got the agenda back to how it should be and all mistakes had been corrected. As this was a press tour with a lot of different actors , agents and crew it was a lot of coordinating and contacting other PA’s , publicists etc.. Luckily I had Elliott on my side to help with it all and we had made a checklist. Each morning we started by going through it and crossing off what had been done already , trying to get the other things done as quickly as possible.

I didn’t see Richard that much as he was preparing too and had a lot of meetings with Marvel staff and executives to prepare of what was to come. We seemed to be 2 strangers that were living together given the few time we saw each other. Our communication went mainly through a lot of whatsapp messages and notes left around the house. He also had a lot of fittings for suits around town with a couple of different designers. I heard Gareth his stylist regularly to update me on which suit and shoes should be worn at each première. Each piece of information was stored on my laptop and in the binder. All of the garments would arrive in the 2 weeks prior to the London première as this would be first one. Gareth asked me to inform him on what had been delivered and what not yet so he could chase them as he didn’t wanted to add more tasks to my already extensive list.

Most evenings I could finish at a decent time so I went either for a run or met Ian ‘The Butcher’ as I called him for a personal training session. Although he was a though trainer we had so much fun too and noticed we had a lot in common which was nice. He was also still training with Richard but he went on other times then me so we never bumped into each other. Ian did show me the work out he made Richard do and that was even more brutal compared to mine.

The spare free time I had besides work and the gym I went for walks around different parts of London but found myself loving the big Camden area the most. Even in winter there was always something to see and do which made me look forward to when spring came into town. Then it would be even more fun to just walk around and sit by the canal and relax. Also Nothing Hill was a creative spot to be in with all the little shops there. Occasionally when Richard and I were both at home at the same time we spent this mostly by just talking , getting to know each other a bit more. We found out to our surprise that we had the same tastes in music , movies , other subjects too. We easily found something to talk or discuss about sometimes for hours at a time. Which was good news as on the press tour we would be a lot dependent of each other .

The last 2 weeks before the circus was going to start it felt like everything was cranked up a gear. Nearly every day there would be multiple deliveries to the house often from designers with clothes bags , shoes , accessories etc… . Each delivery meant something else from the list to cross off and made sure to send Gareth a little update each time. As far as I could track it we were nearly there. I took it all upstairs to hang on the clothing rack on the first floor. The second door I mistook as the bathroom was actually a giant closet space which contained Richard’s clothes , shoes and accessories. There had been a rack installed and asked me to hang it all on it and he would pack into his giant suitcases. We weren’t going to travel light that was sure and a good thing we had extra luggage booked on our flights.

The first time a delivery arrived with clothe I did sent a message to Richard given he had specified in the rules that the first floor was off limits.

<<Richard , the whole get up for the London première has arrived. What do you want me to do with it? <<

As I knew he didn’t reply fairly quickly when you had sent something I just had laid everything on the couch in the living area. As predicted I got a reply about 20 minutes later.

<<Just hang it on the rack in my closet. That is the door furthest to the left.<<

<<okay, great I will do that. Just wanted to check first as per the rules it was off limit. J<<

This time I got an immediate reaction from him which surprised me even more.

<<Thanks for checking first. You have now my official permission to go in both rooms on the first floor J<<

<< Thanks boss ! ;-)<<

By now the closet seemed like a men’s department store with all the suites , shoes and all other things that had been delivered all from some well-known brands too like Armani , Boss ,.. Sometimes it was just day to day clothing that was delivered instead of suits. Every time the door rang I wondered what was going to be dropped off this time. But the happiest I was when the visa company came to drop off both of our passports containing all the visas necessary for all the different countries we would visit. While checking each visa I came across the first page of Richard’s passport including his photo. I thought my passport photo was bad but his was worse. It was a mixture of his resting bitch face,cry baby and the serial killer look. I couldn’t help but laugh with it. Safely stored them away to we couldn’t lose or forget those puppies. I slowly started to pack my own suitcases too getting it all ready for the tour. I panicked that I hadn’t brought enough dressed up clothing with me and shoes but when I had a good look saw I was covered. It didn’t matter if I had to wear something twice they wouldn’t notice me anyway. For the day to day outfits I just took what I wore around the house the whole time.

We arrived at the final week before the London première when one evening while I was still working late Richard came into the office.

‘Sof , are you still working ? it is nearly 8:00pm already.’ He enquired.

‘Oh hi Richard , yes but I have nearly finished just a couple of small things to do and then I can finish for tonight.’

‘Have you eaten anything besides lunch today?’

‘No, actually no I didn’t have the time at lunch but will just rummage in the fridge and see what I still can make quickly. But thanks for asking.’ I smiled at him.

‘I wouldn’t be a good employer if I let you starve now. I will make us some omelets while you finish up then we both have eaten something. But this is not the apology dinner.’ He winked at me and walked towards the kitchen.

I quickly returned to what I was doing and finished 10 minutes later , closed the laptop and made my way into the kitchen. The dining table was already set and there was some fresh cut bread and butter. Richard was working in the kitchen and some soft music was playing in the background.

‘You young lady just sit down’ Richard ordered while pointing to one of the chairs.

‘Aye , aye Captain’ I saluted him and sat down while smiling. I poured the both of us a glass of water before taking a sip. ‘It does smell good in here what you are cooking master chef Madden?’

He smirked ‘it is only an omelet with some extras not brain surgery. Before you ask there are no tomatoes in yours , I have stored that information up in here.’ He pointed to his head.

He walked over with both plates which we both devoured as if we hadn’t eaten all week. Which might have been the case by the way my stomach had been making noises. I insisted on clearing the table as he had done the cooking but he still helped along. When it was all put away in the dishwasher we walked over to couch and sat down.

‘So how are you feeling about the London première?’ I asked him while drinking some more water and getting comfortable on the couch.

‘Getting a bit stressed if I’m honest. I just don’t know what to expect from it. I have done movie premières before but this is another kind of level I guess.’ He confessed.

‘Oh expect a whole other lever of insanity afterwards too. Don’t think your life will be the same anymore once this movie is in the cinemas around the world.’

He sighed while crunching his nose ‘That scares me the most that my life will be lived for me and not be my own anymore. I hope to be still be able to go for a run in the park or leave my house without being mobbed. I still want to be able to go back home and do something with my family without having the pictures in the newspapers the next day.’

‘I’m not going to pretend to know what it must feel like being hunted by the paparazzi. But if there is one person who can handle this and get through, it is you Richard’ I slightly patted his hand to reassure him. ‘You have an amazing support system up in Scotland and your family they will keep on loving you no matter what. The gossip magazines already don’t write a lot about you because of your tactics in boring them. You have always been a very private person so you are not giving them much to begin with. Even an 80 year old has way more fun then you.’ My last comment made him laugh.

‘Thanks for cheering me up. I guess I’m getting just nervous about the première and how people will react to it. I’m proud of the movie: the wonderful group of actors , Chloé as a director. I just don’t want to let them down that is my biggest fear.’

‘From what I have seen from the trailer it doesn’t look like you have let them down. That Ikaris look will set hearts racing all over the world Mr Madden .. (I paused a bit) … and probably other parts too.’ I smirked.

The next thing I heard was the biggest belly laugh in a very long time nearly making him roll of the couch.

‘Stop it ! That is such bullshit.’ He commented finally finished laughing.

‘Really ? Wanna bet on that ? Yes Kit will get some attention too but it is the Ikaris look that will do the trick. Oh yeah before I forget just wanted to say everything has been arranged for you mum and dad to come to New York for the première.’ I mentioned.

‘Oh good , they could have come to London but knowing they had always wanted to go to New York I thought it would be better if they joined me there. After the première they can stay a bit longer and explore the city too before returning back to Scotland.’

‘I have been e-mailing and calling your mum to be sure that they had received everything. She is a blast we had such a laugh on the phone I have to say.’

‘Oh that is my mum for sure always in for a laugh if she can , she is quite a character. But so is my dad but he is bit quieter than my mum.’

That same evening we chatted a bit before each going to bed for another busy day ahead of us. Finally the day came of the London première that would take place in the later afternoon on Leicester Square. Richard left early in the morning for the press junkets that were starting already while I stayed in the office to get through some of the last minute changes. I was the whole day in contact with Elliott to confirm the final schedule and get the time for the car pick up which was 5:30pm to be sure that we were at 6:00pm at Leicester Square. The schedule for today was so packed that Charley who does Richards hair had to go to the hotel of the junket and groom him during lunch time instead at home.

At 2:00pm Elliott left the office to go home and get himself ready for the big event as he lived outside of London. We were staying in contact over whatsapp in case there were changes in the schedule. Finally at 3:30pm I closed my laptop and made my way upstairs to take a shower and start preparing myself too. I had laid out my outfit on my bed and decided it needed a last minute iron on it but I would do it once I was ready. I styled my hair with the curl iron so it was in waves on my shoulder, kept my make-up neutral with light sparkle on my own blue eyes. Once I was happy with myself I took my black jumpsuit to iron it out. Walking downstairs I didn’t hear any noises on the first floor which was strange cause it was 4:45pm already and no sign of Richard. I hadn’t received any message from him or Elliott so I presumed he would be home soon. It would be a short turn around but we could manage it if all went smoothly.

I took the iron board out and iron and installed myself in the dining area as I did all of my ironing there due to the lack of space in washing room. Just as the iron was heating up I heard a slam of the front door and some grunting. Oh shit I thought that doesn’t sound great. Richard came marching into the dining area and I could see he was nervous and wind up like a wire.

He started his ramble: ‘The bastards just kept on asking questions even though Conor said I had to leave. But no they wanted to ask more and more and then we got stuck in traffic. I only have 45 minutes left to get ready : take a shower , put on my suit plus I saw this morning that my fucking shirt is wrinkled too. I can’t do it all at once and besides there isn’t enough time to do it anymore too. I will look like a mess on that red carpet and laughing stock. You see I’m going to let them down just as I told you before.’

He looked at me with soft tears forming into his eyes. I went over to him and laid both of my hands on his arms and started to rub them tom try to comfort and calm him down.

‘Richard , look at me, look into my eyes. Now breath in and out. Relax. You march upstairs and get me that shirt. I still have to iron something for myself anyway so it doesn’t matter if I do one or two things. Once it is finished I will drop it on your bed so you have it ready. In the mean time you can get a shower, touch up the hair and get into that suit. Now up those stairs young man get me that shirt.’ I ordered him.

It took him a couple of seconds to take it all in but he soon raced up the stairs and was down very quickly with his shirt. He handed it to me while giving me a light kiss on the head and ran up the stairs again. My iron skills weren’t the best but I managed to iron it without burning any holes in it and it looked at least a lot more decent then before. My own jumpsuit was a piece of cake after that and was quickly done. I put the iron and board back in the washing room so it could cool down. Working my way back up the stairs I stopped at Richard’s bedroom and laid the shirt on his bed. I could hear him sing under the shower so he was a bit more relaxed and that made me smile. I changed into my outfit and put my heels on , glimpsed one last look into mirror and for once saw something I liked which didn’t happen a lot. I grabbed my jacket and my purse that contained all the necessary items and invitations in case they asked for them and went to the first floor. As I got to Richard’s bedroom I saw he was just applying the finishing touches on while looking into his full length mirror.

‘You clean up very nicely dear sir! Especially that shirt that is a work of art.’ I joked.

He smirked looking at me in the mirror. ‘Yes, I have to say that shirt is ironed immaculacy , couldn’t have done it better myself. I have to say you look pretty yourself and you seem to have grown a bit too in the process.’

‘That is movie magic Mr Madden that is all I can say.’ I winked. ‘The car will be here in 5 minutes to pick us up. Do you want me to store somethings in my purse for you? ‘

‘No, I will manage to get it all in the suit just taking the basics with me. I trust you are going to take the house key with you?’

‘Yes, I will take it with me and if necessary you still can give me your things before the red carpet would you need it.’

With that the doorbell rang which was a sign the car was there and we needed to leave for the première. I closed the house and made sure I kept my key somewhere safely. In the car ride over we were both very quiet and mentally preparing ourselves for what was to come. As soon as the car doors opened on Leicester Square I was met by an incredible wall of sounds. It took me a couple of seconds to get focused again and get my professional hat on. At the beginning of the red carpet I met Elliott and we could finally hug each other. The next hour seemed to fly by as Richard first had to stand in front of a wall of flashes which made me wonder how he could do that. Righter after he made his way to all the waiting press and adoring fans. It was touching to see how he interacted with them and how much love and respect they had for him. But it was pure mayhem and I could only imagine what went through that mind of his.

When we entered into the cinema it felt so peaceful , there was still a lot of noise but less then outside. Elliott, myself together with Conor who was such a nice man managed to guide Richard through the crowds and industry people and left him with the Marvel crew. He was going to be seated in a different section then us anyway so we took already our seats all anxious to see the finished result. As I had imagined the movie was amazing , mind blowing and would be a good addition to the Marvel Universe. Ikaris was indeed a fine male specimen and would exactly create the reaction what I had predicted he would do. At the end the cast and crew got a massive standing ovation that was minutes long before they were each introduced separately. There was an after party planned but we all decided not to stay too long as tomorrow was a full press day and the day after we left already for Asia.

For some reason the car ride back home was quiet again probably cause we were both tired of the previous days as all the tension had eased away. I was glad my brain was still partially functioning so I could still open the front door and find the lights. As we both made our way upstairs we said our good nights as I stopped on the stairs leading up to the second floor and turned to Richard.

‘You haven’t let them down: not tonight and certainly not in the movie. You can be very proud of this movie and your performance.’ I said to him before turning around and making my way up the stairs. Finally I could kick of my heels again, changed into pajamas, took my make-up off and crawled into bed.

I slept a bit longer as today was only there to double check everything , go through the list again with Elliott and make sure everything was setup and ready for the travel day. I had an easy day today and felt bad for Richard as he had a full press day and a Marvel dinner this evening as well. Since Disney had put their own people on the press day I wasn’t necessary to be onsite. When I finally made my way down to the kitchen I noticed a small note on the table which read:

Sof,

Thanks for your support yesterday , all of the previous times and for your kind words. They meant a great deal to me.

Now let’s go on with the circus and maybe see you later tonight.

Xxx,

Rich

It was a nice little gesture of him to make and was proof of the kind , generous man I had gotten to know better these past few weeks. While eating my breakfast I called Evi to get her up to date on what had happened at the première. These last few weeks we only had time for short talks and chats as we both were very busy. But once we got back from the press tour she would come to visit me for a few days as I had gotten Richards approval for it.

Even though I didn’t have a lot to do today, it kept me busy enough and knowing my inability to sleep on flights I went to bed early to be rested for the long travel to Asia for the premières in Shanghai, Taipei and Tokyo before we made the cross over to Sydney and finally NYC. This was all happening in a short 3,5 weeks so we would only be in each city for a limit amount of time and a whole lot of press was scheduled. The morning came of our departure and were picked up early in the morning and driven to the special Business class terminal at London Heathrow. Us normal staff had to check-in at the normal terminal due that our tickets weren’t business class but Disney had arranged it with the airline so we could too. Basically we got all the perks as our employers at each airport like lounge access but flights were in premium economy where possible and otherwise just economy.

Richard asked me to get him some magazines for the flight so I made my way to WH Smith to buy them. In the process getting myself some too and a book that seemed interesting to read. Making my way into the lounge I gave him the magazines and we worked through some schedule changes together with Conor that had come through that morning. After boarding I installed myself for the long flight ahead and checked the inflight entertainment and saw that I probably could find enough movies on there for the whole press tour so I was happy. We arrived in Shanghai where the mayhem only had started cause it was nothing compared to London. Everything went okay in Shanghai but I hardly had any time to myself and saw nothing outside the hotel. I went along to everything and made sure Richard had everything he wanted , needed and was being taken care for. Even it meant making sure the laundry was sent to the hotel launderette , my list of jobs became so much longer all at once. I thought to myself if it goes this smoothly everywhere then we are fine and get through it all. Little did I know that by saying I jinxed it all.

It was when we arrived in Taipei that things started to go wrong but were not our fault and beyond our control. When we arrived at the airport there was such a massive crowd gathered that we hardly made it out of the terminal and into the cars. Both Conor and myself pushed the luggage through the airport so that Richard could jump in the first car and we could follow in another one after him. There were also fans waiting at the hotel far less then at the airport but there was still extra security needed. Certainly after one fan breached through them and got up to the floor where everyone was staying to we went basically on lockdown except for when it was necessary to go outside. Yet another city I didn’t see and a hotel I got to know very well.

We were staying in 5 stars hotels so the perk was that they all had a decent gym. So in the little hours I had free I often went to the gym or to the pool. It occurred on numerous occasions that I was there together with either Salma or Kit or Gemma or anyone of the other actors or their crew. As we were all in the same boat plus spending all this much time together we became a group of friends. There was a whatsapp group formed where besides news , serious notes also stupid jokes were being posted. Once Taipei and Tokyo were done we geared up for the last 2 stops of the tour Sydney and New York. But there were rumors going round at Tokyo airport between the PA’s that Disney was going to move the première from New York to Los Angeles as the new Marvel part in Disneyland was finished earlier then suspected. I immediately started to get a bit stressed as I knew that Pat and Dick were coming to New York but decided to wait as nothing was confirmed yet.

Even though the flight took 10 hours and I was basically knackered I still couldn’t sleep. Not because of my sleeping problem with flights but I was still thinking about that première move and how Richard was going to take this. He had been calm the whole tour and replied to all the questions he was asked with a polite reply even if they had been asked a million times already. The most refreshing interviews were the ones with question that were completely out of the box. Then I saw a flicker of the real Richard popping up giving some serious belly laughs. The première in Sydney went perfectly as the fans really enjoyed the chance they got to meet the cast fully grasping the moments they go with them. After a grueling long press day we arrived back at the hotel when the news got confirmed that indeed the première would move to the new Marvel theme park addition at the Anaheim park instead of New York. I made my way to Richard’s suite and could hear through the closed door he had gotten the news too , I opened it with my extra key.

He was stomping around the room and was just rambling angrily at Conor who gave me a look to get some help. When Richard spotted me he turned around and just continued:

‘Sof, have you heard the news? They have fucking moved the whole première. We are 48 hours before we are supposed to be there and they fucking just moved it. All because their Marvel part is finished and they want to use our movie to promote this. The bastards. And now that my mum and dad are coming to a première outside of the UK they just decided to move to the opposite coast. What are we going to do? They are supposed to fly the day after tomorrow to New York. They can’t come now since it has moved to Los Angeles. And I really wanted them to be there you see , wanted to show them the movie and get them the chance to see the city. Now they just took it all away them fucking bastards.’ He just slumped onto the couch with his head in his face as he started to sob.

I casted a look at Conor whose face was more of a despair than anything else. Seeing him like a broken man sitting on that couch it broke mine too. I made my way over to Richard as I couldn’t let him sit alone like that forgetting the professional boundary for a couple of minutes. I wrapped my arms around him and just gave him a big cuddle while soothing him at the same time. Gradually the sobbing stopped and he came to his senses again. He lifted his head up so I let go of him at the same time.

‘I’m sorry Sof , didn’t meant to breakdown like that in front of you. That was not professional for me to do.’ Still teary eyed.

‘Rich, well we can’t be professional all the time. I felt you needed a friend now more than the need of a PA. Look it might seem that all is ruined now but I promise you everything will be okay. I will make sure that your mum and dad are there. And I don’t break my promises ever.’ I said pouring my heart and soul into my reply.

He wrapped his arms round me and held me tightly against his body. For me it felt like it was lasting forever but it was a mere couple of minutes in reality. When he let go he took my hands and said sincerely.

‘Thanks for trying at least even it doesn’t work you are willing to try. This is beyond of the things you are supposed to be doing and still you are doing it.’ He thanked me.

I shot a look at Conor cause there was one question I actually had to ask him and get the answer to it too.

‘Conor, how is the budget going ? Do we still have some stretch on it or are we tight? I just need an idea so I know what is the limit.’

I got my reply fairly quickly from Conor with a smirk.

‘You can go all the way with this one , the sky is the limit. Disney decided to change it so they are going to pay for it. Just get me an invoice and I will get it cleared by them. We behaved very well up until now with our budget compared to some others so go for it. I just don’t think they will approve if you hired a private jet.’ He winked.

I got up from the couch and started to walk to the door.

‘Okay boys I’m going to find my magic wand and get Pat and Dick in Los Angeles on time to see their boy shine at his première in the Magic Kingdom.’

I closed the door behind and leaned against it. How on earth was I going to fix this mess and that in less than 48 hours as with the change of location came also a longer flight time. I hurried back to my room and fired up my trusty laptop given the time difference I didn’t know if Elliott was already logged in. He was not yet so I wrote down the things I could think off. I needed to change the flights from New York to Los Angeles maybe I could use the already issued tickets and get them rerouted. If not then I needed to look into other airlines that would get them on time in Los Angeles. The hotel might be a tricky one but I could at least first try the one we were staying in maybe they still had rooms available. It would be difficult to coordinate given the 12 hour difference.

I started by looking up a phone number for the airline we had booked them tickets on and could find an Australian number that was already something. Wrote it down on my paper so I could call them once I had spoken to Elliott as I needed him to talk to Pat. Next was the hotel but given that was an 17 hours difference I could only call them at 03:00am to check with them. This was going to be a night of no sleep and stress since we were leaving Australia the next morning already. Ordering something to eat and some coffee I saw that Elliott was online so I skyped him.

He had just seen the news and was expecting my call so was ready to help me with anything he could. He was going to call Pat a bit later to explain the situation and see what were the possibilities for her and Dick. We agreed we would call in a couple of hours again to see how far we were and what still needed to be done. After hanging up with Elliott I started calling the airline but even calling the special number that came with Richard’s status I still had to wait in a queue. After a grueling wait of 2 hours I finally got somebody on the phone and crossed my fingers that I had a capable employee on the phone as I was seeing my time window getting smaller and smaller. I heard the person on the other side of the line knew exactly what they were talking about so felt a bit more relaxed. I gave the booking reference and we started to look at all the options that were possible. It took us both some time to check everything . In the end we did find a flight from Glasgow via London to Los Angeles that would get them arriving on time. It just meant that they had to depart earlier from Glasgow then their current flight and we only had seats in business class. I asked if they could block the seats already and hold the line. I quickly skyped Elliott to check if he had news from Pat and Dick , he basically told me they could leave any time as they really just wanted to be there for their son even if it meant flying in the middle of the night. I checked with Elliott the flight times one last time and he gave me the okay. He was going to call the contact at Disney to check what was happening with the invitations. I took the call back from the airline, checked one last time if we had booked it correctly and gave my approval for the change. I gave them the credit card and got promised me that shortly I would get the new confirmations via e-mail.

When I checked my watch I decided I could now start calling the hotel and check with them. I crossed my fingers that I would as successful in securing a room for them as I had with the airline. I tried to call the hotel reservation department but there was no reply yet. I decided to wait another 15 minutes and try again , using this extra time to pack my own suitcase and put some clothes out for the travel in the morning. Once I had finished I saw I had received an e-mail from the airline with the new tickets which I quickly checked all the while holding my breath afraid that I might had made a mistake due to the lack of sleep. But all seemed to be perfect so I forwarded it to Elliott which got an immediate reaction on the chat of a thumbs up. He chatted me also that Disney had arranged everything already for the première and they would send all the new documents to my hotel room in Los Angeles. I tried once again to call the reservations department of the hotel and managed to get somebody on the phone. While I gave the dates for which I needed a room I could feel my hearth beating so fast. The line stayed silent for what seemed forever when the girl came back on the phone saying that they had some executive rooms available but that was the only type left. Knowing Pat a bit she was willing to sleep in a broom closet if it meant she was there and didn’t necessarily needed a suite or so. I gave her the name for the reservation and the credit card with could be used as prepaid for everything. As I wanted to make their stay a bit more pleasant after this whole mess I arranged a limo service to pick them up and a bottle of champagne in their room upon arrival. Hey Disney was paying for it so who cares anyway I thought for once.

There was one last thing for me to do before I could take a shower and change before I had to check out and fly 16 hours to Los Angeles. I had a copy of the ESTA forms of both Pat and Dick so I went into them and changed the details for the hotel and made sure they were still approved for the US. I had one final skype call with Elliott.

‘Hi fairy godmother, weren’t you a busy bee tonight?’ he laughed.

‘Oh please, I just did my job that is all. Although I think I will finally be able to sleep during a flight for once. I feel like a bus has run over me.’ I replied to him.

His tone went very serious. ‘What you did last night was going beyond your job. You could have easily just tried and said it wasn’t working and go to bed. No , you stayed up all night and in a mere couple of hours turned a very bad situation around to something good. You can be very proud of yourself right now.’

‘Elliott , you should have seen him when he had gotten the news. It tore out my heart seeing him so broken and I couldn’t just let it go by. He deserved to have his parents there with him. ‘

‘Well, not a lot of PA’s would have done what you did so he can count his lucky stars to have you and I hope he acknowledges it too.’

‘That is not why I did it for just wanted to help. I seriously need to take a shower now and get myself ready to leave for the airport. I just wanted to inform you of the following: hotel is confirmed and sent you the e-mail confirmation just now. I have arranged for a limo to collect them from the airport so they have to look out for someone holding an ipad with their names on and I have updated the ESTA forms. Anything else we can get arranged once they get here and have decided what they want to do.’

‘Got it all and will call Pat straight away. I will quickly check them in onto their flights and send them their boarding passes. You know she will hug you when she sees you in Los Angeles that I can guarantee you already. Now get into that shower I can smell you all the way to London.’ He laughed which made me laugh.

I closed my laptop and got into the shower which felt so good. I wasn’t feeling tired at all even though I hadn’t slept in 24 hours. As I made my way to check out I couldn’t yet inform Richard or Conor about everything as they went ahead of me and I also wanted to say it in person. As I arrived at the airport I was starting to get tires as the adrenaline had worn off and longed already for my seat on the flight. I made my way through customs straight into the lounge. As I spotted Richard and Connor sitting in one of the corners I made my way over to them. They both looked at me with such a hopeful look I couldn’t help but smile slightly even though I lacked any energy.

‘It has all been changed and booked. I could reroute their flights from New York to Los Angeles, got them in business class. They should fly out any minute now according to your mum’s last message that I got just a couple of minutes ago. There will be a car waiting for them at the airport when they arrive. They are staying in the same hotel as we are and all invitations for the première will be sent to my hotel room in LA waiting for me when we arrive there.’ I just rambled all in one go.

Once I had finished both men blinked , broke into a smile, came over to me and cuddled me each for a couple of minutes.

Conor spoke first ‘ I don’t know how you did it but thank you. Do you need something to drink?’

‘Could you get me a very strong and very large coffee please? I haven’t slept all night and feel like I can collapse any minute now if I just stop.’

With that Connor took off and left just us two all by ourselves. Richard started to cuddle me once more but a little tighter than the first one and kissed me on the head just like the evening of the London première.

‘Thank you so so so very much, you are a life saver’ he whispered in my ear. More words were not needed to be said. Conor came back with my coffee which just helped me to manage going through the boarding process.

As I took my seat on the flight I was asleep before take off had started and only woke up right before arrival skipping all meals in between. This whole tour had drained me already from so much energy and last night was the final drop.

I felt so refreshed for once when I got of a flight instead of being completely drained. It would still be a couple of hours before Pat and Dick would arrive and for once we had some time off so I just went to the pool to relax and eat something. I had asked reception to inform when they had picked his parents up at the airport so I could let Richard know. As soon as I got the message I went to look for him and we both went to reception to welcome them. They both were so happy to see their son and the reunion was so heartfelt to see since they hadn’t seen each other since quite some time now. As much of stress it had been to get them there it felt so satisfying to see the reunion. Once that part was finished and Pat spotted me she grabbed me, cuddled me to death and thanked me from the bottom of her heart, same gesture was repeated by Dick.

Due to the fact the première had moved to Los Angeles they had changed the date too and we had one more day extra before the big event. My free time I tried to spend as much with them as possible since Richard was stuck in another press junket. We rented a car and drove around Los Angeles to take in the sights it had to offer. The day came of the première and in true Disney style it was magical and so over the top. But at least they all seemed to enjoy it as they were together , seeing how they looked at Richard you could tell they were very proud parents. The three of them even posed in front of the Sleeping Beauty castle as Pat wanted it and asked me to take the picture. With one more day of press junkets the press tour family became excited as it would be our very last one to through before the circus finally finished . There was a big farewell party planned that evening in a karaoke bar in Los Angeles. Pat and Dick had made reservations in a lovely seafood restaurant in Santa Monica so they weren’t coming to the party. I changed in a party outfit which meant basically skinny jeans, a nice top which showed some cleavage , did my hair and make-up.

We all piled in different cars to travel to the bar so I only saw Richard occasionally at the party. We weren’t ignoring each other but were just mingling and having a great time. Since we had no more commitments the next day the alcohol was flowing freely as it was an open bar with shots passing by every couple of minutes. I had been clever to still east something before I left but couldn’t deny being seriously buzzed after some time. With the right amount of alcohol that had been flowing it was the time the karaoke started. There were some great ones and also a lot of not so great ones. But being the family we were we just cheered for anyone. I could keep myself hidden away fairly well for a long time. But got dragged on stage by my fellow female PA’s to sing our version of “Dancing Queen” by Abba. For once I was so happy that I knew most of lyrics as they were a bit unclear to me. I loved to sing and would do it around the house the whole time but there was a difference between being in private and on a stage. As I hadn’t seen Richard in a very long time now I assumed he was outside smoking a cigarette. He loved to sing he had confessed to me once but not in like karaoke situations although he had a great voice. So when he got onstage with Kit , Kumail , Barry and 2 other actors to sing “I’m too Sexy” by Right Said Fred I knew he was pretty drunk as he normally wouldn’t have done that. Especially when they started to include some catwalk and other moves they could remember from the videclip. And boy did he have moves, I caught myself ogling at his firm butt and thighs. What was wrong with me he was my boss so I tried to concentrate on somebody else. I decided it was all the alcohol in my system that had made me do it.

They were so funny op that stage that my sides started to hurt from laughing so hard and hoped somebody had videoed it. So when they finished their song they go the biggest cheer and whoops. As Richard came offstage he spotted me and made his way over to me. I was happy to finally see him unwind from all the stress and be plain happy , enjoying himself. As he stood in front of me slightly sweating as it was really warm in the bar , I had to finally use my own mantra. Focus Du Bois focus as I realised somewhere along those past 3,5 weeks something had changed in me but I couldn’t show it to him.

‘Sof’ he said with a slur. ‘I don’t know what I would have done without you these past few weeks. You have been there through it all and were like a rock for me. I could rely on you for anything and I mean everything. Looking at how you handled the situation with my parents I can’t thank you enough. I mean it I would be lost without you , you’re the best thing to happen to me since a very long time. I don’t know what I would if you would leave.’

He opened his arms, pulled me in and held me so tight flush against him. Oh god even now he still smelled great sweaty I thought. Of for fuck sake stop it my internal voice said founding it’s sense again. As I let go of the embrace he shifted his hands to cup my face ,looked straight into my eyes and kissed me on the lips , it was such a gentle kiss. Startled at what was happening I just closed my eyes and softly touched his sides. As he stopped kissing me I opened my eyes and as blue stared into blue still tasting the faint smell of alcohol we both came to our senses and started to giggle.


	5. Only Want You – Rita Ora

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story continues where we left of with the kiss.....  
> See how this story develops ....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone that is reading my story!!!

‘I think we both might have had a bit too much to drink.’ I said still giggling my head off.

‘Dinnae teach yer Granny tae suck eggs!’ Richard smirked.

I must have pulled the funniest face cause he started to laugh so hard he had to bent over. Which became infectious as it made me laugh too until the tears were streaming down my face.

‘What in the hell was that ?’ I asked him once we both finally calmed down.

‘That is a Scottish saying that actually means to teach someone something they already know.’ He explained.

Before we could get more into what just happened and what the kiss might have meant he was pulled away by Kit who wanted to introduce him to a brunette legged woman who was standing a bit further down the bar. As I saw them walking over to the brunette I looked at her and knew I could never compete with her: size 2 , long legs , a fantastic bum and the perfect boobs. All of a sudden my party mood was over and I just wanted to go back to the hotel. I said my goodbyes and avoided the part of the bar where Richard was standing with the leggy brunette. By the time I got back to the hotel I wasn’t feeling too well and just crawled into bed.

****** Richard ******

Why did Kit have to come over and interrupt us ? I just wanted to talk to Sofie and find out what the kiss had meant to her. I didn’t plan on kissing her but it came sort of natural when I spotted her from that stage. It suddenly made me realize what she actually means to me and that I didn’t wanted to lose her. Not just as my assistant or friend which she had become the past few weeks but somewhere on the line I started to develop some feelings for her. I was just to blind to see and acknowledge it to myself. The woman Kit took me was a nice one , she had some humor and all the typical features I went for in the past. Yes, she could be a lot of fun and god it would be great to take her back to the hotel and break this monk like life I was leading now. We had a couple of drinks, chatted away but when we kissed it just wasn’t the feeling it should have been and frankly left me cold. I just couldn’t go through with it even though I really wanted to so I just said my goodbyes. As I looked around I hoped that Sofie hadn’t seen it but I couldn’t see her. They told me she had left earlier saying she wasn’t feeling all too well. Going back to the hotel I quickly sent her a message to check up on her before getting into bed all alone yet again.

<< Are you okay? You left the party not feeling well I heard.<<

When I got up later that morning with a massive headache it got only worse when I saw that I had a couple of messages. I went through the first ones which were from Conor:

<<Rich, there have been pictures leaked from last night of you and a brunette woman. They aren’t high res so seem to have been taken secretly. Keep you posted.<<

<<Picture are indeed been taken secretly and sold to TMZ , they have been taken down already. Only been online for max 30 minutes or maybe a bit longer.<<

I felt my head starting to throb even harder and went into my bathroom for some pain relief and water while I quickly typed back to Connor.

<<What kind of pictures where they? Did you get more on how it happened?<<

<<They had pictures of you talking and kissing her mate. It seems the woman was involved with the photographer. After our lawyer called TMZ they were down very quickly. No need to worry about Marvel or Disney they are okay.<<

As I looked at the last message it wasn’t Marvel or Disney I was worried about I just wished that in the small window they had been online that one person hadn’t seen them. Now this crisis seemed to have been dealt with I looked at my other messages and saw Sofie had replied.

<<Yes, I’m fine J. I think the combination of the heat in the bar and alcohol killed me but much better now still a bit queasy.<<

I replied to her message:

<<Good to hear you feel much better. It was warm in there and a lot of alcohol was indeed consumed I seem to remember J. But if you still feel unwell later just let me know and I can go to the pharmacy for you.<<

<<If I need anything I will let you know Dr. Madden ;-)<<

At least she replied with a joke so she hadn’t seen those pictures which I was happy for. The rest of my day I spent doing nothing much as I just felt the need to sleep. This press tour had been the most difficult and tiring one that I had ever done. Just in the evening I went to a nice little restaurant with my mum and dad to have a family dinner. Tomorrow they wanted to do some shopping for the family back home and I had some shopping myself to do. I know that in a couple of weeks it will be Sofie’s birthday and she owned a pyrrha talisman herself. So I will drive to the LA store tomorrow and find something to give her. I could maybe arrange for my apology dinner to be on her birthday. Then I can make an extra big effort with my cooking and in the end I have a small gift to give her. I had already looked on the website and have found a couple that would suit best. But I do hope they have my favorite one instore as that one would be just perfect.

****** Sofie ******

The day after the party I woke up really early and did feel a bit queasy. I shouldn’t have been drinking that much and it was just so hot in that bar too. As I opened my wifi to check my e-mails I saw I had received a link to a TMZ page on my google alerts. Elliott had shown me how to do it so we could keep an eye on all the press stuff regarding Eternals, I just had forgotten to deactivate it. I opened the link and saw an article about Richard and the leggy brunette. They had some low res pictures in the article but since I had been in the bar I recognized just enough on them. As I scrolled through the article I stopped near the end as I saw a picture of Richard and the brunette kissing. Not just a small peck on the lips but full making out. I could feel my stomach just turn and I had to rush to the toilet to empty it. I just couldn’t believe how he could kiss another woman the same night we kissed. Maybe seeing these pictures was just the kick up the behind that I needed anyway. I should put Richard altogether out of my head and these pictures might just be the trick. It seemed that our kiss didn’t mean anything to him so why would I even bother I tried to persuade myself into believing that. As I got back into bed I saw that I had received a message from him. We just exchanged some small talk and I included a joke to try get the situation go back to normal again. It was for the best that we returned to how we were just by being friends or maybe even just even further to employer - employee. I was so happy that I had decided a couple of weeks ago to go to San Francisco for a few days so this would create at least some physical distance between us. It gave me some extra time to forget about the kiss or my feelings at all. I would only see Richard upon my arrival back in London as we had separate flights.

It would also give me enough time to prepare myself for the coming weeks. Now with the press tour done it would all wind down a bit and we could go back to the normal day to day tasks spending more time together and live in the same house again. Those few days on my own were just what I needed as I roamed around the city and take in the sights I had always wanted to do. Took a boat trip and visited Alcatraz where I made this crazy video , drove over the Golden Gate bridge which was for a change not in dense fog but clear blue skies and sunshine , walked round Fisherman’s Wharf and finally got to visit the Walt Disney Family Museum. As much as I loved my time there I often caught myself thinking about Richard, the time we had spent these past few weeks and that kiss , wondering what he was doing and with who he was doing it. During my trip we did still sent banter , jokes to each other via whatsapp. My conclusion at the end of the trip was that we just couldn’t go back to a formal relationship as employer and employee anymore . We had gone through too much together to just dismiss it and forget it all so I decided friendship would be the only possibility from now on.

****** Richard ******

The next few days flew by as I took my mum and dad around Los Angeles and showed them all the places they wanted to see. I managed to purchase my favorite talisman which I took as a positive sign of the things to come. Even though Sofie was on official holiday leave and was off the clock , we still did send messages to each other so it felt like we were good. These days apart gave me also the time to think at what had happened and how we could go further from now on. That kiss was probably just the climax of circumstances and was just a kiss nothing more. I had to push it all aside as the best thing for us was to be just friends. If we would take this to the next level and somehow it didn’t work then chances were big that I would lose her completely. So I rather have her as a friend then a girlfriend, ruin it all and not have anything anymore in the end and have lost own my very good friends in the process. How much I wanted to tell her how I was feeling I just couldn’t risk it. I will see what the future will bring for us when we get back to London and our new routine of work. I do still had a busy agenda the next few weeks but also some free time which I wanted to use to cross of my list of things to do: the exhibition of photographer Andy Gotts , a new play in the West End ,… and finally just get back to some normal training schedule with Ian plus my regular runs. I kind of felt sad that Sofie wasn’t flying along with us as I had missed her these past few days apart. We had sent some funny jokes , she had sent me this crazy video she had taken at Alcatraz of some seagulls but it wasn’t the same as being in the same room and having a laugh. But first we had to get back to London and leave this circus behind as Los Angeles was good but not for too long. Plus I had planned a couple of meetings with Connor regarding some new projects on the works so was excited to return to a normal life and starting new things. I was still afraid that once the movie started to roll out everywhere in the world my life would be lead for me: being dictated by meetings, appointments and paparazzi lurking everywhere. Which kind of already happened in the bar but I hoped it would be the only time like that. But first getting these massive suitcases packed and travel back to normal life was the plan.

******Sofie ******

Once I landed back in London I was so excited to get back to the house and even doing all of my laundry that was waiting for me. My flight had arrived earlier then Richard’s so I knew I had the house to myself for a couple of hours so I could get myself installed again. It just felt like coming home when opening the door , I had missed it so much which surprised me honestly. The housekeeper had still come by each week to clean and air it but it still was a bit stuffy inside so I opened the windows in the kitchen. Now that it was starting to get warmer I could soon use the little city garden the house had. I dumped all of my dirty laundry and filled the first washing machine while hauling my second suitcase upstairs and empty that one in my bedroom. I had a look in the fridge and saw it was bare so made my way to the Sainsbury’s and decided to make a simple spaghetti bolognaise for us both as Richard would be starving when he would arrive back home. As I was walking back to the house I quickly looked and saw that his flight was due to land in 3 hours so he would be here soon too. We hadn’t seen each other since that night in the bar so I was a bit anxious how the reunion would be.

As I was putting the groceries away I heard my phone ping with a message.

<<hi babe , how are you? Got back safely from the big US of A ?<<

It was a message from Evi who I hadn’t yet dared to tell the full kiss story but was going to do now as I needed some advice.

<<yes, I got back a couple of hours ago sorry I hadn’t messaged but had some things to do. And could use your advice on something.<<

It didn’t take long for the whatsapp audio call to come through.

‘Don’t worry about not messaging me , I totally understand it.’Evi cheerfully said. ‘Now tell me what’s wrong? What has happened?’ her tone switched to serious.

I sighed. ‘You know I told you the story about the karaoke evening on LA? That it was fun , that I was as drunk as a skunk?

‘Yeah I can remember you telling me this. Why do I have the feeling you didn’t tell me the full story?’

‘Because I haven’t .’ I admitted. ‘You see I had told you that Richard went onstage and did karaoke which was hilarious. Well when he came off the stage he came over to me , gave me a speech how he couldn’t miss me, how I had become his rock , how he would be lost without me. And then he hugged me and we kissed.’

‘What !!!!’ Evi shouted. ‘Please repeat!! You guys kissed did I hear that correctly? !!!! No that part you hadn’t told me before no as I would clearly remember this. What happened after the kiss then?’

‘We just laughed and blamed it on the heat in the bar and the huge amounts of alcohol we had consumed. But then Kit came to take him to meet some leggy brunette. All of a sudden my night was over so I just left and went back to the hotel.’

‘Hang on the same leggy brunette as the one on those kissing pictures?’ Evi had seen them too and at the time just joked about them to me.

‘Yep, that is the one and only. It appears she was involved with the photographer so just seduced him to get those pictures. They wanted to have a bigger story to sell but it fell apart when he left without her.’

‘Okay, so he just kissed her and nothing more happened. That sorta means something doesn’t it? Otherwise he would have taken her back to the hotel with him. Yes he did kiss you first and then her so he is not completely in the clear but the poor guy’s privacy has been invaded. I know you have told me he is very private in those kind of things so he must feel bad knowing he was used for selling a story. Did you talk about it at all?’

‘No, it was just before I left for San Francisco so just whatsapped him. We just had the usual banter , jokes nothing more. We haven’t talked about the pictures so he probably thinks I haven’t seen them or know they existed. When he arrives it will be first time we see each other since it happened. If he thinks I don’t know about them I just can’t talk about it either. Although I know he vulnerable he must have felt and probably could have used a friend then.’ I sighed.

‘No shit Sherlock this could be an awkward one. How do you feel about the pictures and the kiss?’ Evi asked.

‘The second I saw them I felt as if my heart was kind of broken. I’m not going to deny it felt good to be in his arms and feel his lips on mine. I just hadn’t realized that these feelings had developed until that evening. They must have been slumbering for a while now but I just never realized it. But Evi it is for the best that we just stay friends , it can never develop to a relationship.’

‘Why is that? Is it still because you don’t think your good enough for him?’

I sighed heavy ‘Evi, you should have seen her she was just perfect. Had the right size , long legs , butt, boobs. I’m totally the opposite of that , he is just way out of my league.’ I said feeling tears well up in my eyes.

The reply I got from Evi was the one I knew she was going to give as I knew her so well but let her do it.

‘Now you listen to me : sure you are not like the leggy brunette but you are so much more than that. You are not a size 2 but you are not a hippo either you have curves in just the right places where they should be. You have an great sense of humor and the dirtiest of mind sometimes. But most of all you have your heart in the right place proof is that night you worked on those tickets. I have said it before and will keep on saying it you are quite the catch. And him being way out of your league let him decide that , you just might be totally wrong for each other too. Given that speech he gave you, he might just think the same that you are way out of his league. What are you going to do next? Are you going talk to him and tell him how you feel?

‘No, no I have decided in San Francisco that the best decision is to just be friends that’s all. It will hurt a bit when he goes on dates but it is for the best. We are better for each other as friends then as lovers.’

‘I do hope you know what you are doing because this can backfire and go horribly wrong which I hope it doesn’t. In my honest opinion you guys have to talk and admit your feelings cause it is crystal clear they are mutual both sides. Good thing that I’m coming over for your birthday in a couple of weeks then. We’ll go out, have a great time and have loads of fun.’ Evi said.

‘I’m so looking forward to you coming over already , we will have a great time and I can’t wait to show you some the little spots I have discovered.’ I smiled. ‘Thanks for the talk and for listening to me. But I have to start dinner soon or we won’t be able to eat anything.’ Which was a little fib but she didn’t know that.

‘That’s what friends are for. You know you can call me day or night if you need to talk, complain. Now start on that food so you can give your man something to eat when he arrives home. Byyyyyye.’ She joked. Before I could reply she had already hung up on me.

I returned to the laundry: unloaded the first one in the dryer and loaded a second machine of washing but decided to let the machine run tomorrow as it would be too late otherwise today. I went to sit down on the couch for a while to kill time before I had to start on dinner as I could only do this once the flight had arrived. As I got an alert saying that it had landed at London Heathrow I could start preparing the spaghetti bolognaise. I was going to do it my way so I hoped Richard was going to like it. When setting the table I didn’t put any glasses out as I was unsure if we were going to have soft drinks or a glass of wine. We often had a glass of wine during dinner but given our last experience with alcohol didn’t know if it was the right thing to do.

****** Richard ******

As I landed in London Heathrow I somehow couldn’t get through customs fast enough and waiting at the baggage carousel seemed to take hours before I finally had all of my suitcases. As I made my way outside and met with the driver I was contemplating if I was going to send Sofie a text to let her know if I was coming or not. That might be a bit too much for now. Or I could ask her if we could go out and have dinner together but I would decide that when I arrived back home. I hadn’t always loved my house but it had grown on me and I missed it when I was on location or doing these press tours plus I longed to just take my car for a spin too. My house was always there when I needed a break either from the world, people , fame or paparazzi’s. It was the only place besides home in Scotland and my friends where I could be the real Richard and not the picture the media had painted of me.

As we drove back into the city I got a little bit nervous. It would be the first time we were going to meet face to face ever since the kiss. The best scenario would be that we just could pick up where we had left off before the kiss happened. We arrived in front of the house , while the driver took out my suitcases I fished my key out of my pocket and opened the door. I took my suitcases and put them in the hallway ready to take my laundry out and the rest upstairs. But before I was going to do that I just wanted to see her. As I stood in the hallway my nose picked up the scent of food being prepared and it smelled like Italian. How had she guessed I wanted to go for dinner in that little Italian bistro a couple of streets from the house? As I walked into the kitchen I could see her standing behind the cooker singing along with the music that was playing.

‘Hi stranger’ I said and she turned around towards me.

******Sofie ******

I had put some music on as a distraction but also because I just loved hearing music and it helped me with the cooking. I had put the volume a bit higher and was singing along so I hadn’t heard the front door opening. The first thing I heard was a thick Scottish accent saying ‘Hi stranger’ to me and I immediately knew who it was. I turned around , walked over to him and gave him a big hug.

‘You missed me that much then?’ he chuckled.

I let him go and playfully slapped him on the arm.

‘As much as I miss cucumbers which you know I don’t like.’ I laughed, relieved we were back to our old way so no embarrassment whatsoever. ‘I hope you are hungry because I’m preparing some spaghetti bolognaise.’

‘I’m actually starving and wanted to suggest to go to that Italian bistro we discussed before.’

‘I thought it would be nice to have dinner at home after being gone so long and have eaten in so many restaurants. I feel I have gained so much weight during this tour , good thing I already booked an appointment with Ian for tomorrow.’ I sighed as pinched my love handles.

‘You have not gained any weight and you still look amazing. So stop being so hard on yourself.’ Richard said while looking me straight in the eyes. We seemed to gaze for a couple of seconds in each other eyes which I broke first.

‘Well , dinner should be ready in a few more minutes so take you seat. Do you want a soft drink or alcohol tonight?’ I enquired.

‘Please just a soft drink or some water , my liver is still showing withdrawal symptoms from that last night party.’ He laughed.

I laughed too ‘Oh that was a big one and the hangover was even worse. I really worshipped the porcelain god that day.’

‘Sof , please stop saying such things I can’t handle it anymore please just stop.’ Richard grabbing his stomach as he had laughed so hard.

The rest of dinner went without any issues or glitches , we just talked for a very long time about the tour and all of the incidents that had happened some funny and some not so good. It seemed we both had decided to just take the friends route which I was happy about. While Richard cleared the table, filled the dishwasher I went to the laundry room to fetch my first machine from the dryer. As I walked back into the kitchen I could see Richard was yawning and I honestly was starting to feel tired too.

‘Is the washing machine free?’ Richard asked still wiping the tears away from his yawn.

‘No, there is still a second load from me in there to wash tomorrow. Otherwise just leave your dirty things near the machine and I will put a first load on once mine is finished. I don’t mind doing that as I will be home most of the day anyway also this will leave you some time to relax too tonight.’

‘Thanks for offering to do this. If I had to put it on right now it might have all shrunk or have a different color. I only had a little bit of sleep on the flight and feel knackered if I’m honest.’

‘I know how you are feeling I feel like a bus has run over me or so. I’m going to go upstairs and get an early night’s sleep that will do me good.’ I said while going towards the hallway.

‘Oh Sof , I wanted to ask you something. Tomorrow is the opening Andy Gott’s exhibition and wanted to ask if you would like to go with me. I don’t feel like going all alone if I’m honest.’ He confessed.

‘Sure Rich, I would love to go with you. I follow his Instagram account and have always wanted to see his pictures normal size instead of my phone. I think I still have something in my closet that I can wear. But I’m going to go to bed now before I collapse on the floor. Good night.’ I said while walking up the stairs and closing the door behind me.

******Richard ******

As I walked in my bedroom , sat down on my bed I tried to go through everything that had happened tonight. The first thing that surprised me was the way she hugged when I walked into the kitchen. I hadn’t imagined that this ever could happen again but was so relieved it did. I can still feel her arms snaking around me and hugging me so close. I couldn’t help but react when she said those awful things about herself. If she could see her the way I do she wouldn’t say those kind of things. She still looked amazing and hadn’t gained any weight at all. I knew how hard she had worked out on tour to keep the weight from piling on not only for herself but also cause of all the skinny people in the crew. I understand her all too well when your head says you are oversized while others have another vision of you. I hate that mirror as much as she does especially the image it shows me , I have not yet come to terms with what it is showing. Sure during the movie shoot I looked good , muscled and ripped but it didn’t feel good. People can only see the result but not the road you have to travel to get there. The grueling early morning work outs , those revolting shakes , salads with chicken or tuna and if you were lucky some steamed vegetables. How I longed for the days it was finished and I could eat carbs and drink beer again. They had me back on training version 2.0 now for the press tour but that was bearable and I would keep up the regime and exercises. I laid out my running clothes and shoes so I could go for a decent run tomorrow morning before breakfast and clear my head. Not only had she cooked a mean dinner but we also had a fun evening with just talking , cracking jokes and laughs. To top it off she then even suggested to do a part of my laundry which I’m grateful for she is willing to do as I do have a meeting and lunch with Connor tomorrow too. I don’t know what came over me to ask her to go the opening of Andy’s exhibition but I’m happy she accepted it anyway. As I got ready for bed I took out the small wrapped gift box and stored in my nightstand for the right time came to give it to her. I was so tired it took me only a couple of minutes to fall asleep.

The next morning I woke up very early feeling so much more rested but still slightly jet lagged, put my running attire on , brushed my teeth , pulled my airpods out and linked them on my phone. As I pulled my door open to head to the front door I saw Sofie coming down the stairs in her sports gear and it took all of my strength not letting my jaw drop.

She was wearing skintight shorts that hugged her hips, showing a lot of her toned legs. I knew from looking at her when she was wearing her jeans, she had amazing legs. But I wasn’t at all ready to see them on display like that. As I looked up I saw that the razorback top and her shoes were from Under Armour, guess she loves the brand as much as I do. I couldn’t help but stare at her as I saw a flash of her neon pink sports bra. Her hair was up in a ponytail and a few strands had already escaped. She looked so hot and didn’t even realize it.

‘Are you also going to see Ian?’ Sofie asked.

‘No, not today I’m going to go for a run now. I presume you are going to see him?’ I enquired and felt something nagging at me. She was going to Ian dressed like that? I suddenly got a bit jealous of him.

‘Yes, I booked an appointment yesterday in and this early time slot was the only one available.’

We both made our way down the stairs , out the front door as I selected my desired playlist ready for my run and trying my best not to look back again at her. Running had a liberating thing for me , it made me feel free and helped to get all the stress out of my body. After finishing my 25km run I arrived back at the house , took a very refreshing shower and got ready to leave for my meeting with Connor. I quickly grabbed something to eat before I left the house.

******Sofie ******

The last thing I expected when I got in my work out clothes was to bump into Richard in his on my way out. I have to admit it took me a couple of seconds longer to reply to his questions as he looked jaw dropping good. He was wearing a grey sleeveless Nike T shirt that clung to his body , black Nike shorts and running Under Armour shoes , so we both liked the same brand it appeared. While walking down the stairs I couldn’t help but look him up and down, he had lost the Ikaris ripped look but still had muscles in all the right places. The work out with Ian was even more grueling as he had switched some of the exercises to new ones. At one point I just cursed at him for being so brutal which only earned me a laugh and 10 more sit ups. As fierce and gruelling as Ian was in his training he was a very nice guy besides that. We always found something to talk about and had so much fun together. There was even some flirting going on but more from his side then mine. Maybe I should give a chance and get to know him better or even go on a date with him. He might be the right person to get Richard out of my head for good.

After getting home I showered , got ready and made breakfast which I took with me in the office. The whole day was taken up by catching up on all the last e-mail I had gotten , adding the new appointments in the agenda , having a long catch up talk with Elliott on the tour and all. In between during my breaks I focused on getting the laundry done. I finished my work in the early evening just in time to get myself ready for the opening. I had rummaged through my wardrobe and had find a nice jumpsuit I could wear. It was vintage style with a high waist and showed some cleavage but not too much just enough. I decided to put my hair up , applied my make up in the same way I had done for all the premières , wear my pyrrha necklace , some long earrings and put my medium height heels on. I just had arrived in the hallway when the front door opened and Richard came in.

‘Wow , you look stunning.’ He said while he gulped.

‘Thanks , I had found this in my wardrobe as all of my other clothes needs to be ironed first. I hope this is all right for tonight?’

‘You are absolutely good for tonight but if you will excuse me I need to get ready too.’ Richard excused himself and went upstairs.

During the wait for him to get dressed I changed my handbags and checked my messages if anything important had come in. I heard Richard coming down the stairs and entering into the living room. He was wearing a form fitting black suit and white shirt with the top 2 buttons open showing off his chest hair which made my mouth instantly dry so I made my way into the kitchen for a bit of water.

‘Are you ready to go?’ He asked while putting away the final things in his suit pockets. ‘I have ordered a taxi who should be here any minute now.’

‘I just have to put my jacket on and then I’m ready.’ I said.

With that the doorbell rang and announced the arrival of our taxi. The rest of the evening went by so quickly. We first met Andy Gotts himself who gave us a small private tour of his favorite pictures while telling all of these amazing stories including the one about Richard’s photoshoot. After our tour was finished we went around ourselves while given our own expert opinions. I even tried to pull some of the faces we saw cause they were so funny. Sometimes we mingled with other guests but most of the time it was just the two of us having fun. Like two friends who went to an art exhibit together although I did notice that Richard from time to time laid his hand on my lower back while walking around. When we felt the time was right we said our goodbye to Andy and got a taxi back home.

‘That was an interesting exhibit I have to say. He really has an eye and a gift for photography especially with these kind of portraits this is necessary.’ I said while getting comfortable in the taxi.

‘He has this way to make you feel at ease when he takes your pictures and makes you do things you would never do normally if you get what I mean.’ Richard said while using his eyebrows to express himself.

‘I do have to take Evi with me to see this when she comes for a visit.’

‘That is right when is she coming again?’

‘The day before my birthday on 6th and is staying for 3 days. I would have loved longer but she couldn’t get more time off from work.’

‘Oh, that is great so what are you girls gonna do then on your birthday then? ‘

‘We haven’t planned much yet but I presume we will go out and have fun somewhere. I promise we won’t be too loud when we get back or too drunk.’ I reassured him while giving his hand a slight squeeze.

‘Don’t worry about that. You have a great time with your best friend celebrating your birthday’ he said with a smile that was his fake one.

I had seen enough of his smiles to spot the difference , it looked like he was upset about something.

He continued ‘Good thing you have planned something already as I was planning on going to a party myself that evening and take a date with me.’

‘Great to hear that.’ I said quietly before turning to look outside.

Luckily we were only a couple of minutes anymore from the house. All I could think of was to go to my room , change and crawl into bed. We said our good nights as I continued up to the 2nd floor, it took me some time to get changed into my pajamas and into bed. As I turned off the lights I could feel a slight tear trickling down my cheek. I quickly grabbed my phone and earplugs while starting my shuffle as I could hear Rita Ora’s song starting ‘Only Want You’.

******Richard ******

Today had been a very productive day as the meeting with Connor went great as some very interesting projects were lying ahead of us. I was so excited when I arrived home and actually wanted to tell Sofie about them as I knew she would get as excited as me. But I forget it all when I saw her standing there in the hallway. One look at her was enough to make remaining focused a big task for me. She had pinned up her hair while showing off her nice earrings , her make-up hadn’t changed much from the premières but that was more than enough as it really showed off her blue eyes. The black jumpsuit she was wearing clung to her curves which she believed to not have and even was showing a decent amount of cleavage. I gazed at it for a second before I noticed she was wearing her own pyrrha necklace which would form a nice set with the one upstairs. I completely had lost what I wanted to say so blurred out the first thing that came out of my mouth while thinking great job you numpty. After reassuring she was properly dressed for the occasion I went upstairs to my closet and took one of my favorite suits out. It was just a plain black one but just with the right tailoring, I decided just to wear a white shirt with no tie so left the 2 top buttons open to not feel suffocated and it was the right kind of occasion for smart casual. Making my way downstairs I got into the kitchen still trying to find a place for all of my things. I didn’t wanted to bother Sofie into putting it all in her handbag. The taxi arrived just on the allocated time and we made our sway swiftly to the art gallery. It was always a pleasure seeing Andy and were lucky to receive a small private tour from him. He had this talent of putting you at ease and asking you do the craziest things outside of your own comfort zone. Off course we went to see my own picture but I still had a hard time looking at it myself.

The evening was a lot of fun filled with laughter either because of a stupid remark either one of us made or when Sofie tried to pull the same funny face as seen on the picture. She was just a joy and it felt good so good that it was just the two of us. Sometimes we did bump into people I knew and had a small chat but most of the time we were on our own. I caught myself putting my hand in the lower part of her back while guiding her through the crowds. I thought the evening couldn’t go wrong anymore but I was mistaken. When she told me about her birthday plans I felt a blow to the stomach. I had wanted to prepare us a nice dinner and then give her the gift but she was going to celebrate it with her best friend Evi. I couldn’t blame her at all for planning this as I hadn’t said or asked her yet for that evening. Somehow in my thick skull I thought it was wise to mention then I was also going to a party that evening and was planning to take a date with me. How much of a douche are you then? The party was correct I had been invited to something but had not yet confirmed. But then to open my big mouth and talk about a date. I was mad at myself for doing it so I understood she went quiet all of a sudden. The rest of the taxi ride was a silent one followed by a silent walk up the stairs as I stopped in front of my door.

‘Good night Sof , thanks for coming with me. I really didn’t want to go alone tonight. It was such a fun night.’ I said.

‘Yes, it was a fun night. Thanks for the invitation and all the laughs. Good night and sweet dreams.’ She said softly with a one her fake smiles.

I had seen these enough on the tour her fake smiles when she was trying to hide something. A genuine smile makes her eyes sparkle but these ones don’t.

I went into bedroom as I heard her door close , plugged my phone into my stereo and started a playlist. Getting ready for bed was on autopilot as I kept on thinking and saying how much of a moron I was by hurting her. When I finally was ready I got into bed , took one of the scripts I needed to read urgently while my shuffle switched to a song of a good friend of mine: Rita Ora – Only Want You.


	6. Take My Breath Away - Berlin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story continues with the birthday celebrations. On the night itself something happens that shakes everything upside down.  
> Will this be a good or bad ending?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some cursing happening in this chapter.
> 
> Sorry for the long wait but due to some issues at work I couldn't write earlier.

******Sofie******

The weeks after the Andy Gotts exhibition flew by as there were still some smaller press trips for Eternals that took place and the preparations had started for the new season of Bodyguard 2 that would be shot later in the year. Since the press trips were only max 3 days it didn’t require for me to join so I stayed back in London to handle everything from there. I was kind of relieved for the free time. Not that I didn’t like it for Richard to be around the house but I had the feeling something had changed overnight but I just couldn’t pinpoint what exactly. But I had something to look forward too as it was nearly my birthday so that meant Evi was coming over and she could stay for 4 days instead of the previous 3. I had been given a couple of days off from Richard so we could enjoy our time together as I hadn’t seen her for so long. He felt I had earned it after the past few months.

It was the Monday of my birthday week and Richard was in Scotland for a couple of days to see his family and would only be back the evening of the day Evi arrived. I was still going through my e-mails when Elliott called me already.

‘Good morning gorgeous , how are you ? How was the weekend ?’ Elliott asked very cheery.

‘Good morning cheery Elliott! I’m doing fine still waking up thanks. I had a very quiet relaxing weekend I have to say. With Richard not being here I had the house to myself so basically meant couch potato time.’ I said while sipping my coffee.

‘Oh I love couch potato style weekends. I know it is only your birthday on Wednesday but I got you an early present my dear. It is something you are going to love. Your actual present will be delivered on Wednesday.’ He smirked.

The tone of his voice made me worry a bit. ‘Do tell and enlighten me. I’m starting to worry now if I’m honest.’

That made Elliott laugh. ‘No no , it is not something dirty. Can you open the agenda for me please and check if May 4th and 7th both are still free? In mine it is but it might be something has come up.’

I opened up the agenda on my computer and had a look for requested dates. ‘Yes, both are still free actually. Richard is due to start preparations for Bodyguard season 2 sometime after that and there is also the movie premiere Kingsman 3 he has to attend to in May but we haven’t yet had the specific date for that.’

‘Good block both dates then. 4th May is for outfit fittings and style settings and 7th is for the photoshoot itself.’

‘Okay, I have added them both in the calendar. But why did you say it was an early birthday present for me?’ I enquired.

‘Yes, I forgot to tell you what the photoshoot is for . it is a GQ one and I know how you love those. They are thinking about doing one in the similar style like the other one. Including another lush car type Aston Martin DB my dear.’ Elliott said mysteriously. I could hear his wink through the phone as I had gotten to really know him well and his tone of voice.

‘Really ? Thanks for reminding me of my love for that GQ shoot. There is something with those photoshoots I can’t explain it.’ I blurted out. I was so happy he couldn’t see me cause I think I was blushing.

‘There is nothing wrong with it , he did look really good in that photoshoot I must admit. It is because they make him look like a man’s man but with a bit of a bad boy vibe. Just admit that you love that look and altogether admit your feelings for him too.’

I started to ramble. ‘What what? No no no I don’t have feelings for him. He is my boss that would be ridiculous and way out of line.’ I could sense myself going scarlet red now and hoped it would convince him.

‘My darling fifi don’t try that trick on me just admit it that will be easiest way. I had this intuition feeling something had brewed between you both over the past few weeks but wasn’t too sure but your reaction has confirmed it. Look there is nothing wrong with developing feelings for Richard. You guys have been working so closely these past few months so it was something that could happened. I know you have been very good for him on so many levels more then you probably know. You both deserve to end up together if I’m honest. At least you want to be with him for who he is as a person not because he is a famous rich actor.’

I sighed and paused. ‘Elliott, I can’t help it somewhere on the way these feelings developed and I have been trying to fight against them believe me. Like I said he is my boss and I just want to keep it professional. If it doesn’t work out then it will be very difficult to return to just be an employee.’

‘I understand you , it is your choice you have made and I will respect that decision. But I’m warning you it might get difficult next time a new woman comes into his life so be prepared for that. Do know that you can call me day or night if you ever need my help. We may have started out as colleagues but consider you as my friend now, I just don’t want to see you hurt. Although I have to admit Richard is a very handsome man but he just isn’t my type. I go for the muscle types which is so cliché I know.’

‘Oh I see so you have a certain type then.’ I smirked ‘But I know someone who might interest you then my personal trainer Ian. If you would see him you would automatically think he is as straight as they come but he isn’t and he is single too. Maybe you too can go on a date, do you want me to check with him next training?. I laughed and I could hear Elliott laughing through the phone.

‘Well look at you modern Yente the matchmaker doing your thing. You can always check with him and then let me know , I don’t mind that. We can see what happens then.’

We bantered a bit more before returning both to our business of the day. Like that Monday and Tuesday flew by and it was the evening before Evi’s arrival. I did have another training with Ian where I tried my matchmaking skills which were quite successful I must admit as Ian gave me his mobile phone number so I could pass it on to Elliott. I was so very pleased with myself plus some slight nerves already for the next day that it took some time to get to sleep. Wednesday morning came very quickly and was still a bit nervous. I had told Evi that I would wait for her outside the arrivals terminal to welcome her. I even had made a stupid sign with ‘Welcome Evi !’ which I was holding up and patiently waited for her to burst through those doors. When she saw me standing there with my sign she had to laugh so hard she double folded over. Once we had both stopped laughing we hugged for a couple of minutes as we hadn’t seen each other for months now. As we made our way to the taxi stand we finally struck a conversation.

‘So how are things now between Richard and yourself?’ Evi enquired.

‘Still the same as last time basically just friends nothing more has happened. But I haven’t seen him much the past 2 weeks now. He has been away for press and the last couple of days he has been up to Scotland to see his family. But he will back tonight so you will get a chance to meet him.’

‘Great I have been looking forward meeting him as I have heard all of your stories. Wanna see who he really is actually.

‘I think you will like him too , he isn’t a pompous kind of person like some other actors believe me. He is just a normal kind of guy.’

We got to our taxi and got in while I gave the address to the driver.

‘So I have time off from work for the next 4 days so we can do whatever you want to do. Maybe I can show you the neighborhood and we can go to the park?’ I asked Evi.

‘Yeah that would be great and tomorrow it is your birthday so you decide we do. Tomorrow night we are still going to a party? Or has that been changed?’

‘No, the party is still going ahead as planned. It is a Marvel party at the Corinthia hotel for all the staff to celebrate the success of Eternals. It is a casual party so no long formal dress is required. Four our make- up we don’t have to worry I booked us both a make-over at the Charlotte Tilbury store in Covent Garden. As it is my birthday I thought let’s do something fancy. ‘

‘Great minds think alike because I had thought about booking an appointment there as your gift but decided to do something else instead. Maybe we can go the Collective store in Camden for dress shopping before? We can then ask for the make-up to match it? ‘

‘That is a fantastic ide. Then we just have to do our hair, get dressed and go party until dawn.’ I smirked.

Evi started to laugh ‘Until dawn you do know we are old now so that will be at 1am back to the house as we are too tired by then.’

‘Yeah you are probably right with that , we are getting old.’ We both started to laugh.

We arrived back at the house where I gave Evi the grand tour of it, showed her my office with the Golden Globe on my desk. We went up to the 2nd floor where I showed her my room that would be hers too. The couch in my room was actually a sofa bed so she was staying with me and we would share the bathroom. Once she was settled in we got outside for a long walk around the neighborhood while chatting and catching up with everything that had happened with her and myself. When we got to Primrose Hill park we sat down on a bench with a sandwich and I could finally tell her the whole story from the Eternal press tour , the kiss , the pictures in Los Angeles plus everything that had happened afterwards. Including my feeling that something had changed between us as friends like something had shifted. She just let me spill my guts which is why she was my best friend and tried to give me as much as advice as possible.

We finally made our way back to the house around the time I knew Richard would arrive back. So Evi could meet him and we could order some pizza together. As we were making ourselves comfortable on the couch and laughing with something very stupid I could hear the door open.

******Richard******

Those days back home in Glasgow had done me so good. It gave me the chance to see my sisters again,my little niece and nephew. The past year had been so busy plus being stuck in Los Angeles all those months with the corona virus I hadn’t had the opportunity to go back home and see them. That is why it had been so important that mum and dad were at the premiere of Eternals. Thank God Sofie could change their plans and got them there on time. Being back home in Scotland always was the trick to relax and unwind from my life that I was living now. I loved acting , getting to research all the different characters I was playing but not the giving up of my privacy part for the world to see. When I’m in Scotland I can be Richard without people stopping me every couple of meters for a selfie.

I did have a couple of conversations both with my mum and dad about what had happened in Los Angeles that night in the karaoke bar and the consequences it had. They both tried to convince me to act on my feelings and talk to Sofie about it. I had to take a leap of faith, confess my feelings to her and see what happens. If she had them too then we should go for it as we seem to be made for each other, if not then try to find a way to be professional with each other but still keep that friendly bond. But that was just the reason why I couldn’t tell her , what if she didn’t feel the same way and she rejected me. It would be break my heart and I would probably lose her as a friend too. This kept on roaming around in my head during the 7 hours’ drive back to London. I could have easily flown to Glasgow but I liked to drive as it meant I could see the change of scenery the closer I got back to London. I finally arrived back home , parked my car and opened up the front door where I was greeted with laughs coming from the living area. I dropped my bag in the hallway and made my way into it.

‘Good evening ladies , you seem to be having a good time?’ I asked.

‘Hi Rich, we are just laughing with something really stupid.’ Sofie jumped off from the couch , came over and gave me a big hug. ‘May I please introduce you to my partner in crime Evi.’

Evi came over and held out her hand. ‘Richard so very nice to finally meet you. I have heard a lot about you so I can finally see if it is all true or not’. She laughed and winked. We both shook hands.

‘Evi so nice to finally meet you too , Sof has told me all about you so I can finally link a face to the stories. Please do sit back on the couch.’

Sofie walked to the kitchen. ‘Rich sit down too I will get you something to drink. Beer okay for you? We were thinking about ordering some pizzas for dinner that would be the easiest for us all.’

I sat down on the couch. ‘ yeah a beer is great thanks. I was thinking about pizza too, I don’t feel like cooking or going out for dinner tonight.’

Sofie returned from the kitchen with my beer and sat down on the couch. How could I risk losing all of this by confessing to my feelings. No the best thing was to just forget it all and go on as we are now.

‘How was the drive? Not too tiring I hope. How was the family?’ Sofie enquired while having a sip of her drink.

‘The drive back was easy no traffic jams but up there was different so it took a bit longer than usual. I am bit tired but that is normal after such a long drive so will probably have an early night. Family was great , could see my sisters , my niece and nephew. Spent some time with them besides seeing mum and dad. Took my niece and nephew to a dinosaur exhibit in Glasgow. ‘

‘Your family is in Glasgow Sofie told me. That is such a vibrant city , loved it last time we were there. So different from Edinburgh which is basically an historical city. Glasgow is young, full of life and so many wonderful things to see.’ Evi said.

‘Oh you have visited Glasgow already I didn’t know that. Sof, you haven’t told me that.’ I looked at her.

‘Yeah Sofie has been there already multiple times and has visited other parts of Scotland too. She says it feels like going home and that she has lost a piece of her heart over there. Not to mention the amazing whisky’s you have there. We did some trips to the Highlands too from Edingburgh.’ Evi grinned.

I could see that Sofie was a bit embarrassed with the confession of Evi but it intrigued me too. Maybe one day I could take her up to Scotland and show her my sights just the two of us . Why hadn’t she mentioned anything about it before?

The rest of the evening we spent with just talking , having some drinks and eating some pizza. Because of the long drive that day I got sleepy really early already so decided to go to bed. I said my goodbyes to them both and made my way upstairs. Tomorrow would be her birthday and I had arranged for some flowers to be delivered together with a breakfast hamper. It wasn’t the gift I planned on giving as that one was still in my drawer but this would do. I had some meetings tomorrow with Marvel executives as there was talks of a sequel of Eternals and maybe an Ikaris spin off. That was some good news but it meant also getting back into that shape again. Last time I had to go through it all by myself and it was a struggle. The strict diet , all those endless hours in the gym with nobody there to support me or encourage me on a bad day. I wasn’t really looking forward to that again if I’m being honest if it meant returning to an empty house each time. There was also the Marvel party tomorrow night at the Corinthia hotel. I had found myself a date for that but I would rather cancel it then go with her.

While getting ready in the morning I listened if I could hear any noises from upstairs but it was all quiet which was great news. I got ready for the day , took the birthday card with me and made my way downstairs. I wanted to at least do something special already so prepared the dining table for breakfast for both ladies , put the card against one of the coffee cups and left the house. I was having a breakfast meeting with Connor first before meeting up with the Marvel executives so we could discuss it all. I would only get back to the house in time for something quick to eat, get changed and leave for the party.

****** Sofie ******

When I woke up that morning I didn’t really feel like it was my birthday. I never had a birthday feeling anyway so wouldn’t know how that felt. I looked at the sofa bed, saw it was empty but couldn’t hear any noises from the bathroom. I made my way down the stairs into the living area where I found Evi with a coffee on the couch.

‘Happy birthday ! Let the celebrations begin ‘. She said excitingly.

‘Thanks my dear’ I said. ‘Let me get a coffee too. I’m still in the process of waking up.’

I went into the kitchen got myself a coffee and saw that the dining table was already set for breakfast. I noticed a card against one of the cups so I took it with me. I sat on the couch and opened up the envelope. Inside was a silly card of Scotsman who raised his kilt and showed a bare bum when you opened it. I grinned cause I knew immediately who it came from.

Sof,

Happy birthday to you ! May you have a great day today together with Evi. Go out and have fun tonight. We will celebrate your birthday real soon with that dinner I still owe you.

Xxx

Rich

I had just closed the card when the doorbell rang, went to open it and saw a delivery man on the doorstep with a hamper at his feet and a gigantic bouquet of flowers in his hands. I yelled for Evi to come and help me as I took the flowers and she took the hamper. We made our way into the kitchen to have a look at both items. There was a card attached to the bouquet and the hamper which both read from Richard. Not only had he written me a card but also arranged for both to be delivered. I looked around for a vase big enough for the bouquet while Evi unpacked the hamper. It was filled with all kinds of delicious things to eat. I quickly fired off a message to Richard even though I knew he was probably in a meeting.

<<I know you are probably in a meeting right now but just wanted to say thank you for the card, the flowers and hamper. That was really thoughtful of you. They have made my day. XXx<<

The next hour Evi and I spent in eating all of the delicious items we had found in the hamper. There was another delivery man but this time with a smaller package. I opened it and inside was a box containing a silver bracelet with a tree of life. The card accompanying it told me it was from Elliott, who I sent a message to thank him for the beautiful gift. While Evi was getting ready I went through the messages I had received from family and friends for my birthday and replying to them. It was around noon when we finally made our way out of the house and off on our shopping spree. We walked to Camden as it wasn’t that far from the house and found the Collective shop there. They had these amazing vintage style dresses. Evi insisted I went for the pin up pencil style of dress as it suited me very well. I had already the same style dresses back home which I hadn’t brought with me. I found a black fitted wiggle dress with halterneck straps which according to Evi hugged and showed off my curves. I had brought my red vintage style heels and with a leather jacket would look good together. Evi found an equally figure hugging dress which an ample cleavage who showed off her girls. It took me some persuasion with her cause she couldn’t see herself how magnificent she looked in it.

By the time we got to Covent Garden it was nearly time for our make-over appointment at Charlotte Tilbury. We each showed the make-up artist the outfit of the night and she made sure it all fitted together. We both got a vintage style make-over where mine consisted of highlighting my blue eyes but with light colors so it seemed like nothing was there , an eye line flick and red lips. Evi’s was more darker on the eyes and lighter on the lips. We got home to a quiet house so Richard wasn’t home yet which probably was a good thing. We styled our hair, got changed in our full attire, I had a look in the mirror and didn’t hate what I saw so that was positive. We were going to have dinner before going to the party so took all the necessities with us (most important fresh mints and lipstick) , closed up the house and got in the taxi. I checked I had the invitation to the party with me and we drove to the restaurant.

****** Richard ******

It had been such a busy day with meetings , meetings and more meetings. It had started with a breakfast meeting with Connor this morning.

‘So the meetings today with Marvel are basically regarding 2 projects they want to do. As Eternals is such a box office success they off course want to do a sequel to it. The other project they are thinking off is maybe doing a spin-off around Ikaris. It seems that the audience really like his character and would love to see more of him.’ Connor started.

‘The sequel was no surprise giving the numbers it has been generating but never thought Ikaris might get a spin-off. I always thought it was an ensemble cast without any spin-offs.’ I confessed.

We were having our meeting at the Troika office with a delivery of breakfast things. The executives of Marvel were going to come a bit later to the office to start their talks.

‘They had never though that of Black Widow or Hawkeye either but the audience asked for them too. The sequel is pretty much a done deal they are just looking into the scenario , director , etc… For the spin-off it is just talks at the moment nothing really specific yet.’

‘Have they set a timeline already regarding the sequel?’ I quizzed so I could get an idea when the horror of the preparation would start again.

‘They are talking off starting to film mid 2022 roughly the same periods as the first one but it is still a bit uncertain. It could easily be starting in 2023 too. ‘

‘Okay, so that could mean I could do something else in between too. Maybe do something in theatre again or a movie that is less blockbuster style.’ I sighed ever so slightly.

‘I get you Richard I do. I have been your manager for so long now I know how you work. I do have some propositions for you on my desk for you to have a look at. There are some theatre possibilities but also some movies more style Rocketman. Not that you have to sing or dance.’ Connor chuckled knowing how much I didn’t like to do that. ‘Movies that are not the big blockbuster type of characters I mean. There is an interesting project in Australia that could interest you. It is only a short shoot for your character but would start pretty soon. You can take them all with you and have a look at it , maybe do a first triage already.’

We talked a bit more about the possibilities that Connor had for me and some seemed to be interesting. They would make a nice change of character style than the usual Romeo , prince things I got sent. Soon enough the Marvel execs were there which was the start of a very long meeting that took nearly all afternoon. By the time that one was finished I had a slight headache which wasn’t very promising for tonight. I passed by Connors office to pick everything up including the Australia project he had for me and got in the car back home. It was the first time today I had time to check my phone and saw Sofie’s thank you message. I could sense the sincerity coming from it and was happy she had liked it. Somehow a small smile graced my lips on the way home just because of that small message. While opening the door I could feel that the house would be empty , I looked at my watch and had just enough time to eat something , get ready and change for the party. My date had sent me a message earlier saying she had migraine so she had to cancel. I wasn’t too sad about it happening as I wasn’t feeling it anyway. After my dinner I went to take a shower so I felt fresh again. Just wearing a towel I went to my closet, opened it to look for an outfit for tonight. It was a casual party but not casual enough to be jeans so I went through my suits. I decided upon a midnight blue Armani suit I had worn to the 1917 premiere in London. But not this time with a bowtie just a crisp clean white shirt with the top 2 buttons open. I styled my hair the best way I could manage it to be , sprayed some Boss bottled infinite on, had one final look into the mirror and made my way to the waiting car.

Upon arriving at the Corinthia hotel there was some press waiting for pictures and some fans so I took my time with both of them before going inside and into the ballroom. I quickly found some of my cast mates who I said hi too. I spotted Kit and Gemma standing in a small group with some of my other friends so I made my way over there with my drink and started chatting with them. I was scanning the room to see who else was there too when I saw Sofie. My mind went completely blank I have to admit when I took her in. I had seen her figure when we to the Andy Gotts exhibit but this was something else. The dress was like it had been painted onto her, clung to her curves in the right way, it showed just an ample amount of cleavage just enough to tease. Her make-up was different than usual and what would I give to kiss those ruby red lips of her again. Seeing her tonight really made me realize how much she meant to me and how deep my feelings were. I should have known she was going to this party as it was Marvel and she had worked so hard on that press tour. How much I wanted to confess to her everything I knew I couldn’t. So I focused again on my friends and their banter. But somehow I couldn’t stop myself looking at her from time to time.

****** Sofie ******

We had a delicious dinner at the Wolseley as Evi had made reservations there as it was her gift to me. After dinner we quickly freshened up in the ladies room there before taking a taxi to the Corinthia. It wasn’t that far from each other so it was only a short drive. I could see that the press and fans were waiting but as we were no celebrities they didn’t wanted to see us so we got in quickly. We left our coats at the cloakroom and went into the ballroom. They had decorated it very nicely and the DJ was already playing some great tunes so that was promising. I was scanning the room when Evi nudged me.

‘I see Richard standing over there’ as she pointed me in the right direction.’ I have to say he looks mighty fine in that suit and shirt. Yes, I’m totally not immune to him it appears.’

I looked at him and could understand what she meant. Mighty fine was not the right word he looked so hot , so sexy my mind went blank. I recognized the suit immediately but this time he was just wearing a shirt with the open buttons showing off his luscious chest hair. I knew from last time what that had done to me so it was going to be a very long night. Evi could sense my way of thinking.

‘Why don’t you go over to him and finally say how you feel about him. He could be yours by the night is through and you can help him out of that suit later on. That would be one hell of a birthday gift.‘ Evi teased me.

‘Evi you know why I can’t do that. What if he says no you know I couldn’t handle that. Giving my track record in the past I wouldn’t be surprised if he says no anyway. Nobody wants something that is broken and scarred. Not only the physical ones but the non-visual ones too.’ I sighed.

‘Bullshit he will want you anyway shape or form you are even with the scars. You too are soulmates even though you probably don’t see it that way. If you are not going to go for him soon somebody else will I would even go for him looking like that.’ Evi said laughing.

‘I understand what you are saying but I just can’t do it just risk everything. I would rather have him as my friend then nothing at all. It won’t be easy to see him with someone else but so be it.’ I shrugged. ‘Now let’s go get some drinks and have some fun. It is still my birthday.’

I knew all too well that Evi was right but what could I offer him compared to his previous girlfriends who looked like supermodels. I’m just a normal plain woman with nothing really extraordinary and a low self-esteem. I could never do those movie premieres with him being photographed from every angle. Especially all the comments on social media afterwards being even worse telling me I’m unworthy to be with him , fat, ugly , …

We had a few drinks but just enough to be on the good level of buzzed and not drunk. The DJ was still killing it so we were constantly on the dance floor having fun. A lot of people came over to say hi, give me a hug and some even to wish me a happy birthday. I was having so much fun I had nearly forgotten that Richard was even there. I had to go to the ladies room but couldn’t see Evi anywhere so just excused myself with the others and dashed off. As I made my way back to the group I finally spotted Evi. She was standing close to Richard and he was touching or caressing her arm it seemed. I knew he wasn’t really her type but she had said earlier she wasn’t immune to him and jokingly added she would go for him if I didn’t. Had she really done that ? Go behind my back after him. I had prepared myself it would have hurt to see him with someone else but never in a million years thought it would be with my best friend. Maybe they were just talking as they had gotten on really well since the moment they had met which I was happy for. But they were standing really, really close and he was touching her. I couldn’t see either ones face to make out what was happening , it almost appeared like they were kissing now. No no she wouldn’t do that to me just kiss him knowing I was there too. The moment they both left with Richard’s hand on her back I knew either something had happened or was going to happen. The longer it took for them to get back to the ballroom the more I got convinced that something was happening between them. They might not have wanted to kiss in front of me so that is probably why they left. I bet I would find them making out somewhere in a corner of the hotel. With that thought in mind I could feel my heart break in a million pieces. I had never expected this from my best friend and neither from Richard. It felt like the world was started to spin around me and I needed to get away. I made my way to the cloakroom to get my jacked and darted outside of the hotel into the fresh air. I walked to the riverside where my tears started to stream. I needed someone else to talk to so I grabbed my phone and sent Elliott a message if I could see him. Within seconds I got a message back with his address so I jumped in the first available taxi leaving behind the hotel, my best friend and maybe the love of my life.

****** Richard ******

Ever since she had walked in I had kept an eye on her just to be sure. She was having so much fun with Evi on the dancefloor enjoying some drinks. There were people from both cast and crew coming up to her for a hug or a chat or to wish her a happy birthday. It was so nice to see how loved she had become with all of them in that short period of time. Still standing in my little group of friends I could sense a tap on my shoulder so I turned around to find Evi in front of me.

‘Suck it up or make a move.’ She said boldly.

‘What?’ I asked surprised. This was not what I was expecting to hear from her.

‘You heard me very well suck it up or make a move.’ She repeated.

‘Sorry Evi I don’t really understand what you want to say but maybe we can go somewhere else where it is a bit quieter?’

‘Sure not a problem lead the way.’

I put my hand on Evi’s lower back and guided her out of the ballroom. We made our way to the Garden where we could sit outside, get a drink , smoke a cigarette and finally get to the bottom of it all.

‘Now Evi please explain me what is happening , why did you say that? ’ I asked while lighting up a cigarette.

‘Madden I have seen you looking or even gazing at Sofie all night especially when another male specimen came by. Don’t say it didn’t happen cause I have seen it myself. ‘

‘Oh I was looking out for her. She looks stunning tonight and knowing some others they might take advantage of it. Just wanted to make sure she was safe.’ I shrugged.

‘Bullshit and you know it. Both of you are completely smitten with each other but both too much of a coward to admit or even act upon it.’ She looked at me intently. ‘I tell you something Sofie knows about the pictures that were taken in Los Angeles with that woman.

‘She knew about them but she never said anything about it.’ I said surprised.

‘Yeah Casanova she didn’t wanted to tell you about it cause it had hurt her so much. She barely had gotten over that kiss and then had to go through that ordeal too. All while just smiling, being there as a friend and assistant. It was in San Francisco she decided to bury her feelings for you and just be your friend. She basically set aside how she was feeling in order not to risk losing your friendship bond you guys have.’

‘So she doesn’t even know the full story behind the pictures either. Oh gosh’ I groaned and rubbed my face. ‘What did you say: bury her feelings? She has feelings for me then? What about Ian? Our personal trainer there are awfully intimate with each other.’

‘No shit Sherlock did you really think she would have done that whole New York / Los Angeles switch and work all night on it for just the salary she is having. Her feelings might have not been that strong that moment but they were there already present. I know Sofie she sees good in all and helps everyone but that was an insane thing to do. Maybe only an outsider sees it but it is clear as daylight there is more between you both then just friends. And given the looks you both gave each other tonight at the party it is pretty clear they haven’t faded away but I dare to say even got more intense. Ian really Ian? She might be really close with him but unfortunately he is batting for the other team and as far as I know going out with Elliott at the moment. To repeat my earlier question what are you going to do? Suck it up or make a move? ‘

It felt like the world had come crashing onto me and slapped me in the face. The things Evi had said really made sense now and come to think of it there had been clear signs all along. How stupid had I been and not realized it sooner.

‘You are so right Evi I can’t deny it anymore I have fallen for Sofie big time. I just don’t know how to act on it. I have wanted to make a move so many times but never gone through with it. I think I need your advice on what to do next. I really don’t want to lose her to another man, I just want her all to myself.’ I finally confessed.

‘Finally we have some progress with you. What you need is to find a setting where you feel at home, at ease, talk to her and just express your feelings. She isn’t the person who needs grand gestures or gifts. If it comes straight from the heart that is sufficient for her. She just has built this gigantic wall around her heart so you will probably have to hammer through that. Once you have done that she is like an open book. Trust and honesty are the most important things to her so don’t lie just be honest.’

‘A wall how do you mean? What has happened to her?’ I quizzed.

‘Normally it is up to her to tell you this but it might give you some advantage. In her teens and twenties she was rejected by boys a lot or they used her to get to her better looking friend. She was often good for being a friend but not good enough as a girlfriend. That affects your self-esteem and makes you question if someone will ever love you for just who you are. To protect herself from getting hurt again like she has the wall was built as a protective measure. So just make her feel loved, cared for that will help you already a long way. ’

‘Thanks for the information I will keep it in mind. Believe me I will never make her feel that again I promise you that. She is probably too good for me and not the other way around. That self-esteem is something we both have to work on but together we will manage that. So you said something about the right setting. I do still owe her that apology dinner I was planning on doing it at home with some homemade food. I had picked up a pyrrha necklace in Los Angeles for her but not yet had the courage to give it to her.’

Evi nodded ‘Dinner , food that is a great idea. At home you will feel more relaxed and it will be easier to talk. The necklace I presume has a certain meaning to it?’

‘yes, it has a meaning. A meaning that can be interpreted in 2 ways actually.’ I slightly blushed.

‘You bought that necklace some weeks ago in Los Angeles, a necklace with a double meaning. Still you insisted there was nothing.’ Evi shook her head while smirking. ‘You are both hopeless still trying to deny what was going on all along. Now let’s get back inside and I hope she hasn’t noticed we were missing.’

Evi and I left The Garden and made our way back into the ballroom. We both looked around but couldn’t see Sofie anywhere. She might have gone outside or to the ladies room. Evi checked her mobile phone as I could hear her say ‘Oh shit shit shit’. I turned to face her and saw she had gone rather pale. She showed me her phone.

<<I thought you were my best friend but you just stabbed me in the back. I have seen you leave with Richard it looked rather intimate. I have gone home as I didn’t feel like partying anymore. Maybe it is safer if you guys took a room in the hotel so I don’t have to hear anything.<<

‘Let’s get a taxi , go back home and check up on her. That might be safest thing to do now. Get this misunderstanding cleared up as quickly as possible.’ I said to Evi.

She just could nod at my suggestion as she was to shocked to react in any other way. We got her jacket from the cloakroom and jumped into a waiting taxi.on the drive back Evi already sent a message to Sofie but there was no reaction.

When we arrived at the house we could see it was dark which might mean she was just up in her room. The front door was locked but that was normal. We both rushed up to the 2nd floor to find the bedroom door open and nobody there. Evi and I both looked at each other.

‘She did say she was going back home no? ‘

‘Yes yes it says so in her message she was coming back to the house. ‘ Evi panicked. ‘Richard she isn’t here where could she be?

‘I don’t know where she could be staying at the moment maybe a hotel or with a friend? ‘

We made our way back downstairs and both sank on the couch.

‘A friend don’t know if she knows somebody here at least she hasn’t said anything about them. A hotel that could be any hotel in London. I’m going to call her, she is my best friend and I don’t want to lose her over a misunderstanding.’ Evi said.

The next hour we both spent in trying to call and sending worrying messages to Sofie but we got no reply from her. She must have been really hurt if she decided not to reply to neither one of us. It was really a misunderstanding but with major consequences. We both decided in the early hours of the morning to get some sleep and hopefully she would be back when we woke up.

****** Sofie ******

After arriving at Elliott’s I told him my full story of what had happened that evening. At first Elliott didn’t wanted to believe something was happening between Richard and Evi. He did change his mind after the pictures started to circulate on social media showing them leaving the hotel together into a taxi with Richard holding Evi’s hand as they got in. I didn’t need more proof that they were hooking up as it was clear to me now. I could sense a new flood of tears coming along and Elliott let me use his shoulder to cry on while trying to comfort me. They must have finally noticed I was gone as all of a sudden my phone started to ring switching between Evi and Richard trying to reach me. Together with an amount of messages that started to poor in from the both of them. I didn’t want to read them to see what excuses they were making so I just turned my phone off.

Elliott borrowed me a t shirt and a boxershort so I could crash on his couch and maybe try to get some sleep. I basically cried myself to sleep that night as I kept seeing the images of Evi and Richard. When I finally woke up it was nearly noon already and I felt a bit hungry. Luckily Elliott woke up around the same time so we both got ready to go out for lunch. I wore the same clothes as the night before but didn’t mind it. For me it didn’t feel like a walk of shame anyway. We walked up to a small Italian bistro and ordered some pasta. He did his best to cheer me up and succeeded most of the time too. He made me laugh with all the silly stories he told me of things that had happened during his time at Troika. When we finally finished our lunch / dinner it was nearly 6pm and I wanted just to go home , take a shower , put my pajamas on and watch some television. I hoped the happy couple was out so I didn’t have to see them otherwise I was going to watch something upstairs. I hugged Elliott goodbye and thanked him for letting me crash at his place and also for his support. I grabbed a taxi getting more nervous the minute we got closer to the house. When we finally reached the house I was nearly shaking with nerves and could hardly open the door. I couldn’t hear any noises so I assumed they were gone. I just wanted to grab some water from the fridge and go upstairs. As I walked into the living area I saw Evi sitting on the couch looking at me with tears starting to form in her eyes. This made something explode inside of me.

‘So where is your new boyfriend ? The one for you have stabbed me in the back and just decided to break my heart for?’ I asked coldly.

******Richard ******

I had hardly slept that night I just couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened. The talk with Evi , the text message , the disappearing of Sofie. It kept all going round and round in my mind trying to figure out where it all went so wrong. I finally fell asleep and slept for a few hours at least. Going downstairs I saw that Evi was up too.

‘So have you heard something from her?’ I asked.

‘No, I haven’t so I presume you haven’t either. I’m still pounding my brain where she could be staying now. Oh and things got even worse by the way!’

I frowned ‘ Worse how much more worse?’

‘Well when we rushed out last night to get that taxi there was still some press waiting so they have pictures of us leaving the hotel with you holding my hand when we dashed out. I can’t imagine she hasn’t seen these so that has probably added some fuel to it all.’

‘Oh fuck , this is getting worse and worse by the minute. I do have an idea where she might could be at the moment. Elliott and her have become good friends so she might have gone there. Let me check with him first.’

<<Elliott, is Sofie at your place? She left, isn’t replying and we are worried sick. Please just let us know if she is okay.<<

I could see that he had gotten the message and was replying back to me.

<<yes, she is here but is a complete mess. You really broke her heart and I had to pick up the pieces. She is still asleep at the moment.<<

‘Good news she is at Elliott’s but not doing great he says.’ I showed Evi the message.

‘Shit this will take a lot of duct tape to mend it all but we will get there in the end. She will be royally pissed off but at me less with you. So best thing is when we know she is coming back to the house that you leave. Let her rage at me not at you. She might be hurt but you can mend that I’m sure of that. Tomorrow I’m leaving to go back home so do the dinner then she will need it.’

‘Good idea about the dinner. Are you sure about her raging at you?’ I asked worryingly.

‘Yes, it is me she is angry with so let her rage at me. We are best friends and we will get through that. It will take some persuasion for her to listen to me but I will manage it somehow. I know how to handle her and make her see it was all just one big misunderstanding. Just get Elliott to warn us.’

<<thanks Elliott I appreciate it. Could you just let me know when she is coming back to the house? Nothing happened last night and is a misunderstanding. I swear to you nothing happened between Evi and me.<<

<<I will message you when she leaves. I know you and if you say nothing has happened then nothing has happened. Did you finally see the light then regarding your feelings?<<

<<How is it that everyone saw it before me? Thanks for the heads up and for being there for her.<<

The next couple of hours I wrote down what I wanted to cook for dinner , made list of all ingredients I needed. I checked with Evi if what I was planning was good and got her approval. When I finally got the message from Elliott I quickly got out of the house. I had rang Taron up earlier and he had invited me to come to his place so I went there hoping all was mended when I got back.

****** Sofie ******

My question hadn’t obviously missed its effect as the tears stopped and Evi’s eyes went ice cold. Her gaze gave me shivers down my spine but I didn’t back off.

‘What did you just say?’ She asked icily.

‘Well where is he your new boyfriend? Had fun last night? I wasn’t here so you could scream for the whole house to hear. ’ I felt I was on a roll.

‘Oh really so you really think that I went behind your back , seduced Richard and hooked up with him? Knowing how you feel about him?’

‘That is what sluts do no? Hook up with someone preferably the one your best friend is in love with? Not even caring who they hurt in the process with it? Not even their best friend.’ I said with an increased volume.

‘So you really think I’m this slut who would do that? You have that a low opinion about me. What have I done to deserve that?’ Evi matched my tone of voice.

‘What you have done to deserve that title? Let me think you went behind my back when I was gone to seduce the one guy I was interested in. Thinking I wouldn’t see that or better wouldn’t mind it? There were so many men available but you had to choose Richard.’

‘Why would you mind? You had said yourself you weren’t going to pursue your feelings for him so who cares who fucks him then?’

‘Me when it comes to it being my best friend yes then I care deeply. I hope he at least did a decent job and was a good fuck.’ I said and nearly losing it at that point. I needed some air so ran into the garden , I felt like I couldn’t breathe anymore. After a couple of minutes I could sense my breathing relaxing more and I was coming back to my senses. When I felt I was relaxed enough I went back inside to face Evi again. She was still sitting on the couch with her phone in her hands.

‘So sending a message to the boyfriend then who had left you all alone to finish this shit. So much for chivalry the coward.’ I spitted at her. ‘I hope you will be happy together but don’t expect me to come to the wedding as I will be busy then. ‘

The room fell in an tense silence. It hit me all over again this lost sense as if the world had gone to pieces and I could feel tears starting to form in my eyes.

‘Evi you were my best friend. The one person in my life who knew everything about me. The only person who I trusted enough to confess my feelings for Richard too. Not knowing it would get turned around and used against me. I honestly do hope you will be happy with him. My heart will mend eventually but in the process I have lost my best friend with it. And you did it on my birthday too knowing how much I wanted to celebrate it after last year’s one during corona virus. I’m going to pack a bag and just leave for now. If you hear Richard tell him that I’m resigning and I will do it officially tomorrow . ‘ By the end of it I was weeping when I turned my back to Evi and started to walk to the hallway.

‘Du Bois stop right there , come back inside , sit the fuck down and listen to me.’ Evi said on such a calm demanding tone I could only obey her and did what she asked.

I sat down on the couch with my face down with the tears still streaming down my face.

‘I will tell you what really happened last night. If you truly are my best friend then you will hopefully believe me and see that it is a whole misunderstanding.’

I looked up to her as she went on so I could see her face.

‘What happened last night is that I caught Richard looking at you several times during the evening. Especially when it was a male specimen who came to greet you. Knowing what you had told me earlier I had my suspicions about his feelings and just wanted to confront him with that which I did. What you saw was that confrontation which was in a pretty close proximity due to the loud music and crowd. He then suggested we went somewhere else to talk plus he needed a cigarette too. So when you saw us leave he was guiding me to the Garden area in the Corinthia nothing more than that. We did talk for quite some time as it took some convincing before he finally manned up and just confirmed what I suspected. We then came back into the ballroom not finding you and reading your message. We both knew that the shit had hit the fan by then. We decided to take a taxi back home to see you and talk to you so we could clear it all up. So the pictures were nothing more than two worried people on their way back home , Richard had taken my hand cause I was so shocked from reading your message. When we got back to the house we couldn’t find you anywhere and had no idea where you had gone too. So we decided to call you and message you but you just didn’t reply. After some time the calls went to voicemail so we knew you had turned it off. That is when we decided to get some sleep each in our own beds. This morning still worried sick about you Richard messaged Elliott to ask if you were there. We finally got confirmation that you were with him. You should have seen the look on Richard’s face when he got that message from Elliott. He was so relieved he had found you cause he had been worried sick about you. He didn’t say anything but I could clearly see he was scared to have lost you forever because of this. That coward you said is not here because I made him leave. He really wanted to be here when you got back but I thought it would be better if you were raging at me alone. As I was the one who has hurt you the most not him. I should have told you before going to him that I was going to confront him that is my biggest mistake I have made. You probably would have stopped me going over therebut at least you would have known the truth and none of this would have happened. I swear nothing happened between the two of us except me kicking Mr Madden under his behind so he would make a move on you. Honestly this was done out of the deepest fondness of my heart cause I just want you to be happy. Which is being together with Richard. In the short period I have seen you together it is crystal clear you are soulmates. You have so many things in common, same interests , loves and I can keep going on.’

My tears had finally dried up while hearing the full story. It was so much information all at once I didn’t know anymore what to believe. I needed some time to myself to think it all over and digest what she said. I knew Evi well enough to know she wasn’t lying but it was all so overwhelming to me at that moment. The past 24 hours had been whirlwind of emotions, misunderstandings, … it didn’t make sense to me and felt like the ground had been torn from underneath me.

‘I can see it is all too much at the moment but maybe if you can sleep on it things become clear. I can imagine you don’t know what is real anymore and you need time. I do hope you can forgive me for this and we can be best friends again as I really don’t want to lose you. Please also think about Richard, he is genuinely a nice guy who cares deeply for you and not the bad guy like you might think now. ‘

Evi got up from the couch and went upstairs to our room. I was still processing everything she had said to me about the story , Richard ,her ,… Sometime later I also went upstairs as I felt so tired. As I entered our bedroom Evi was already asleep probably as exhausted as I felt. I got myself ready and went to bed still thinking about everything, trying to piece it together as I felt sleep creeping up , dozing off.

****** Richard ******

Once I got to Taron’s place he saw something was wrong and made me tell the whole story from start to finish. He had always been one of my good friends but had been busy with a movie during this whole period so I didn’t wanted to be a burden with my problems. Somewhere during my retelling of the story I received a message from Evi.

<<She was really angry and raging with me. She just stepped outside to get some air. Don’t worry it will be fine we will resolve this. I will get through to her. <<

Somehow Evi was still being positive even though her message was rather negative. How was she so sure to resolve all of this I couldn’t tell. I continued with the story to Taron who was looking at me in disbelieve. When we got to the end of it all with what had happened the previous night Taron finally said something.

‘Mate, that is one hell of a story. Why haven’t you called me before when you clearly needed someone to talk to?’

‘I know but you were busy with that movie which I knew was a difficult one so I didn’t wanted to bother you with my issues.’

‘Really Dicky you know you can call me anytime , anyplace. You are my friend for a reason so you can come to me with everything. So what are you going to do now?’

‘Well Evi is talking to her so hopefully she can get through her and make her see nothing happened.’

‘Okay mate but after that what are you going to do?’

‘Tomorrow I’m cooking dinner for her as an apology dinner from a long time ago that has become an even bigger apology now. And finally confess my feelings for her I guess.’

‘Great plan can’t go wrong there believe me no irony there. Do you wanna crash here tonight?’

‘Yeah might be the safest thing to do. Thanks mate.’

As Taron gave me a blanket and pillow to use I got one final message from Evi.

<<She knows the story but needed time. By tomorrow morning it is all okay I know her. Dinner can still go on tomorrow just be honest with her.<<

****** Sofie ******

I woke up at an early hour still with a gigantic turmoil going on in my head. I turned to see that Evi was still fast asleep so decided to go for a run. That always clears my head and helps me to think. As usual the run was just what I needed and helped me make up my mind. I ran back to the house where I found Evi in the kitchen.

‘Morning, I was up early so I went for a run. You saw my note I presume.’ I asked while taking a bottle of water from the fridge.

‘Morning, yes I found your note but suspected it as your bed was empty. I know you use your runs to clear you mind. You want coffee or so?’

‘No thanks I’m gonna stick with water at the moment. Can we talk please before I go take a shower?’

‘Sure maybe it is the easiest if we sit on the couch then.’ Evi suggested. We both moved to sit on the couch.

‘This whole situation has shook me up so badly and for a moment made me wonder if up was up and down was down. But most of all I was surprised by myself that I needed time to make up my mind. You are my best friend and I should have believed you last night when you told me story. Even worse I shouldn’t have thought in the first place that you would hook up with him. I’m ashamed about my behavior, for thinking or assuming you would want to steal Richard from me. I’m sorry for that really am sorry. You should not be the one that needs to be forgiven but I need to ask your forgiving. I don’t know what just made it explode into something big , I can’t blame the alcohol for that. I do believe you when you say you went to him to talk and nothing more happened. I hope you can forgive me?’

‘You don’t have to ask me for forgiveness your reaction was a total normal one. I would have reacted the same it the roles had been reversed. We were best friends before this happened and won’t let this come in between us any longer , let us return to being best friends.’

With that we hugged each other and it felt good to have my best friend back.

‘Now smelly one get your bum in that shower and I will make us some breakfast. Then we can go to the city for some shopping before you take me to the Eurostar.’

I got into the shower and ready to go out into the city center. When I got down Evi had made us some breakfast which we ate while talking like nothing had ever happened even teasing me about Richard as much as she could. We took her suitcase with us as this was easier for later and did some last minute shopping. When we said goodbye at the Eurostar terminal it felt to strange as I didn’t know when I would see her again. Hopefully it would be soon enough cause I had missed her so much. I made my way home where I opened the door to some amazing smells coming from the kitchen. I could also hear music playing and a familiar voice singing along. Richard only sang when he thought he was alone like in the shower or in the kitchen. He often forgot I was in the house and sang very loudly so I could hear it too without him knowing.

I stepped into the kitchen and saw him at the cooker stirring in some pots. The dining table had been set for two with the bouquet of flowers sitting at the end of it with a small gift box next to it. I had decided to not hold a grudge against him as he was innocent victim too of the misunderstanding. Evi’s story had persuaded me to finally confess my feelings to him tonight no matter what. Somebody had to take the first step in this or we would never advance.

‘So is this a new version of the Naked Chef then?’ I smirked.

I had scared him cause he jumped up a bit. But he turned around smirking.

‘Ah dinnae kenn but I will never cook naked. That could be very dangerous and painful. Evi got back safely?’ he asked raising an eyebrow.

‘Yeah, her train left on time I saw too. Was so difficult to say goodbye to her in the end as I don’t know when I will see her again next time.’ I said getting a bit teary eyed.

Richard came over to me. ‘She can come back anytime soon for a visit when it suits you both just please less drama next time? Need a hug?’ I just nodded. He wrapped his arms around and held me so tight for what seemed like ages. It was just the kind of hug I needed too.

‘I better get on with my cooking or we won’t have anything to eat.’

‘Do you need help with anything?’

‘Nope, you just take that glass of wine, set yourself on that couch and enjoy the view.’ He slapped me slightly on my bum to set me off which made me laugh. These small gestures gave me just the right kind of courage for tonight I just had to find the right time.

Dinner was amazing Richard had really done his best and cooked all of my favorite things. So he probably had some help from Evi in that department. We took our desserts a nice moelleu au chocolate and ate them on the couch together with a nice cup of coffee. Once we had finished it all I slightly slapped my tummy.

‘Food baby I tell you. Thanks for the amazing dinner Richard.’

Richard slapped his own belly ‘Same food baby there. It was my pleasure Sof. This was the long awaited apology dinner but just the apology got bigger. I’m truly sorry for what happened on your birthday. It was never our intention to deliberately hurt you.’ I could see in his eyes that he was being sincerely sorry.

I scooted closer to him so I could touch his arm.

‘I know you didn’t mean for things to happen the way it happened. That you didn’t want to hurt me at all. It was just one big misunderstanding.’ I said while caressing his arm.

He took my hands in his hands and entwined our fingers.

‘But I also want to apologize for Los Angeles but not for our kiss. That kiss gave me the best feeling in a very long time. I want to apologize for what you had to see on the pictures. Evi has told me that you have seen them. I just want you to know nothing more than kissing happened. She was working together with a paparazzi and staged it so they could take the pictures and sell them. I was basically being used in the story. If I had taken her back to the hotel then they could have sold them for even more.’

At that moment I felt so sorry for him being used just to be able to sell some pictures to TMZ or other dodgy websites just for the pleasure of the masses. I drew away my hands and put each on one side of his cheeks.

‘I’m so sorry to hear what happened there and you didn’t deserve that at all. Paparazzi don’t care who they hurt in the process for their hunt of false gossip. It is even worse if they hurt someone as gentle, kind , caring , funny as you and that list infinite. The kiss in the bar surprised me hence my reaction to it. I just had realized that I had developed feelings for you but I decided not pursue them as I thought it was better to stay professional. But it felt so good and right.’

After my confession Richard stood up, walked over to the dining table, took the gift that was sitting next to the bouquet of flowers and sat back down next to me.

‘This was actually the gift I want to give you on your birthday instead of the flowers but I lacked the courage to do it. ‘

He handed me the box. I unwrapped the small gift to find inside a black jewelry box which I opened. Inside was a pouch with a name on that I knew all too well: Pyrrha plus a card with the meaning of the talisman.

“You complete me “

This talisman reads 'Tu Me Fixe' in French, meaning 'You Complete Me'. The butterfly is a symbol of the soul and the heart, love. Shown together they represent soul mates.

‘What you read on the card is how I feel when I’m with you. You complete me in all different kind of ways. You have been there in all my difficult times , done the near impossible , be my friend when I needed one. Only I was too blind to see that my feelings of friendship had changed into love until it was nearly too late. Sof, I have fallen for you and hope you feel the same way. That you want to give us a try and see where it leads us.’ He said hopeful.

Tears had started to trickle down my face as I looked at the card again and gazed into Richard’s face. He was pouring all of his emotions out for me to see. I just had to look into those blue eyes to see that what he was saying was the truth. Those eyes told me often so much more than any other expression.

‘I have fallen for you too somewhere in this crazy journey we have had these past few weeks. I still thought at first it was a silly crush but time told me no that it was more than that. I do want to take the next step on that journey with you and see where it leads us. As long as it is with you Richard it can take us anywhere.’

I could see a visual shift in his face like a huge weight had been lifted of his shoulders.

‘Mo leannan, you don’t know how much that meant to me hearing you say that.’

He placed his hands on my hips and pulled me closer to him. I shifted my hands from his cheeks to the nape of his neck where I touched the soft curls there. He kept on pulling me closer until our faces were mere inches apart from each other. I could sense his breath on my face. With just one last gaze into his eyes his soft lips touched mine starting a different kiss then last time. As if he was trying to make me feel his love for me through it. I could feel the pressure changing as the kiss started to deepen as we each got used to the other person. Richard pulled me even closer to him until there was no more space between us. I could feel his hands shifting from my hips to my lower back and my neck. Like that he could deepen our kiss even further. I let out a soft moan which made Richard smile against my mouth. As if he was pleased with himself he got that reaction out of me. He caressed my lower back just at the spot where I was ticklish so gasped just a little just enough for him to slide his tongue in my mouth. What happened next could be best described as teenage make out session on the couch. Our kisses were still full of passion and I could feel his scruffy beard on my cheeks. That could result in a stubble rash later on but I didn’t mind. During our make out session we had shifted so I was on my back on the couch with him on top off me. My hands roamed through his curls which got a moan out of him which pleased me. Never in a million years I could have imagined this to happen let alone with him. Heck even 24 hours priors this was out of the question. He really knew how to kiss very well just by varying the pressure used. Richard broke our kiss to pursue a quest for my neck kissing and nibbling his way down. When reached the right spot he marked my neck with hickey that would be visible for days. I really didn’t care about any of it as it felt all so good as if it was meant to be. Richard kissed his way up to my mouth again and we continued our earlier session. His hands were roaming all over my body, I still had one in his neck but with the other one I found my way to his chest hair. I wanted to know how soft it felt and I wasn’t disappointed by it. . The music was still playing in the background but only one song really popped out of all of them. Berlin started to sing the Top Gun theme ‘Take My Breath Away’ which perfectly described what was happening to both of us. Not long after the song started Richard pulled us both back up in a sitting position and this time I broke the kiss by slightly biting on his lip. With touching foreheads we were both trying to catch our breath back.


	7. Let’s Get it On – Marvin Gaye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened after the kiss between me and Richard as we both confessed our love for each other?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Newt chapter is up in the love story. This was my first time writing smut so please any comments good or bad please let me know.

**** **Sofie** ****

‘At least now we can’t blame the alcohol for what just happened.’ I chuckled.

Richard started to laugh with me.

‘No, that is no excuse we can use now anymore. But I’m glad tonight happened , I don’t know what I would have done otherwise. I probably would have blurted it out over breakfast or so.’ He admitted.

I leaned in and pressed a light kiss onto his lips.

‘Me too I’m glad we finally saw the light and decided to go for it. Over breakfast would have been pretty strange and could have resulted in coffee spilled all over the dining table. ‘

Richard started to chuckle as if he could imagine it happening already which set me off laughing. It took us a couple of minutes to settle back down. He leaned in to me , cubed my cheeks with both of his hands and pressed his lips onto mine as my hands traveled to his sides. The kiss started off soft but quickly deepened to a more passionate one. I opened up my mouth to let his tongue find mine which resulted in a soft moan from me. His hands had moved from my cheeks to my sides pulling me closer to the point I was straddling him with my legs wrapped around. I broke the kiss to start my journey to find his weak spots. I could see that he was pouting because I had broken the kiss but on the other side there was a heat in his eyes which encouraged me to go on. I planted a soft kiss on his pouty mouth before starting my journey from his lip all the way to his right ear. I made my way down underneath his ear to find the spot there which resulted in a groan coming from deep inside of him. So that was spot number one and was curious if the left side would give the same reaction. I switched between kisses and a light sucking to pass underneath his chin up to his left ear. I had always found his ears so cute with those little dents in them. Just as I suspected on the left side the spot had much of the same reaction which made me smile. I had to remember those as they could be useful later on. Richard had grown impatient so he guided his lips back onto mine so we could deepen our kiss one last time before finally letting each other go still straddling him.

‘So you liked that reaction then?’ he smirked.

I just nodded. ‘Just wanted to test the weak spots I had in mind to see if they had any effect which they did. I just couldn’t leave any marks like you did.’ I pouted while touching my neck. ‘This will be a serious hickey I can tell already.’

‘Oh mo leannan, I’m sorry I was so caught up I had forgotten that it would be visible longer with you.’ He apologized.

‘No worry, I will see how it develops and otherwise use some camouflage on it.’ I whispered while giving him a soft kiss. ‘But as much as I love kissing you Rich, there are some things we need to discuss.’ Richard looked a bit pleased with himself by my remark which I led pass by. ‘ Technically I’m still your employee so how are we going to handle that? We need to find a way to separate work and private.’

He sighed ‘I know but don’t have a solution for it either. The easiest will be if we just keep it as professional as possible during work hours. But if something happens during working hours we discuss it there and then. If we bring our work discussions in our private time then it will become all too vague. Which in the end might result in us fighting over work things the whole day.’

I nodded ‘Deal , I was thinking about that too. We still have to keep some kind of boundary up or it won’t work. Best is that we keep on calling each other Sofie and Richard no pet names during work time.’

‘Yes , yes that way we can keep it as professional as possible. I will have to admit it will be difficult to not try and steal a kiss from you during the day.’ He said while he tried stealing a kiss.

I looked at him with a fake stern look which resulted in a puppy eyes style look from him which made me cave into him so he took the kiss.

‘Honey, I know it will be strange in the beginning but we will have to keep doing it. As for me the biggest struggle during work time will be when you have intimate scenes to film with other people. I know that it is fake , asks for a lot of technical cues but for me it will still be you with another female or male actor. I’m honestly not looking forward to it but I will try to manage or at least try to do my best with them even if it means not being on set with you those days.’ I confessed.

He tipped my head slightly so he could look me straight into my eyes.

‘Sof, believe me when I tell you I hate them as much as you do. There is nothing enticing about walking around on a set with a modesty sock and bathrobe on knowing you have to go naked with 30 crew watching you acting out sex scenes. With a director who is discussing the lighting so your arse cheeks are not giving more light then the moon. There is still some kind of fun when you have a good relationship with the other actor like me and Taron had in Rocketman. But if it isn’t those are some long scenes to shoot where you are counting the minutes until the director wraps it up. But I get your feeling towards them so I will always tell you upfront when we have them so you can be prepared and decide if you want to be there or not.’

I could sense myself relaxing a bit more now but knew there was one last big hurdle to jump over before I could fully relax.

‘Rich , there is one last thing I wanted to talk about and I hope you won’t be disappointed. But I want to keep us being together quiet for the time being. I’m not used to everything that comes with your job , the paparazzi , the attention , the fans, … I would love to keep my anonymity a bit longer. I’m afraid that the added pressure and comments will be too much to handle in the beginning. I really want to make us work so I’m just asking for a bit more time and to take things slow. There will be a moment in time where I feel confident enough to show it to the world but just not yet now.

There was a moment of silence between us as he grabbed my hands and slightly squeezed them.

‘Mo grâdh, honestly I’m not surprised with that request I was kind of expecting it. I have been in this business for such a long time now , I am already a bit used to it. There are moments that still surprise me so trust me I will do everything in my power to protect you from it. I will never let anyone hurt or try to hurt you. You are my girl now and I’m going to take care of you. We will take it as slow as you want too you decide and I will respect that. Deal?’

‘Deal’ I said.

Finally feeling all the emotions of the evening creeping up on me I yawned as I suddenly felt so tired.

‘Looks like someone is ready to keel over anytime now.’ Richard smirked.

‘Sorry’ I apologized. ‘ All of a sudden I’m feeling so tired , just want to go to bed and sleep honestly.’

‘Then we will clear the table and make our way upstairs. Just don’t make me sleep alone tonight? ‘ Richard pleaded.

‘Off course not I’m going to grab some things from my room first. I’m not letting you go tonight after all we went through to reach this point.’

I stood up from Richard’s lap and could feel my legs tingle of being seated for so long in that position. He took the plates from the coffee table into the kitchen while I took my pyrrha pouch upstairs with me. I gathered all of my essential things together and made my way back to the bedroom on the first floor. Richard was already in there clearing some space for me in his bathroom. It felt strange but also so familiar too be in his bathroom, like it was meant to be all along. Still giving me some space alone he left the bathroom so I could change in my pajamas and get ready to go to bed. As I left the bathroom he told me which side of the bed would be mine and went into the bathroom himself. I had just finished arranging my things on the nightstand when he emerged from it. He was wearing a black t-shirt and his black boxer shorts which were snug really showing off his bum, I just hoped he hadn’t noticed that I was checking him out. We both got comfortable in bed before turning off the lights. We kissed goodnight as I snuggled up to him and dozed off within seconds.

**** **Richard** ****

As I was lying in bed with Sofie curled up in my arms I just couldn’t believe how today went. Looking back at this morning I was so sure that it would all fail and end miserable. But Evi had insisted that it would all be all right in the end and that I had to stay positive. When I woke up at Taron’s place that morning after the very little sleep I had, I dreaded starting my day but one last chat with Taron had helped.

‘Dicky , what are you going to do now? Have you made your mind up?’ Taron asked while handing me some coffee.

I took a sip of the warm , welcoming brew. ‘T , all night I have been tossing , turning , debating between not telling or to tell her. But I have decided I’m going to take the plunge and see where it leads too. Worst case scenario she just wants to stay friends.’

‘Good idea, do you know already how you are going to tell her? Maybe you can give her something?’

‘When we were in Los Angeles I have bought a necklace for her with a special meaning. I’m going to give it after dessert and then tell her.’

We talked a bit more about Taron’s latest movie had been shooting and about Kingsman 3 that would come out in a month’s time if it wasn’t delayed even more. Once I had received Evi’s message that they had left the house for the day I made my way back to start my preparations for dinner.

I wasn’t going to cook any special things just the ones I knew Sofie had loved last time I made them. Preparations were well underway when I went to take a quick shower and change in something else. I decided to wear the clothes where I felt the most confident in so it was a basic black jeans and a v-type black t-shirt with some sneakers. I had put on one of my many playlists to feel relaxed , stirring in the pots making sure nothing was burning , singing along to a song when I had heard her naked chef comment. I had been so focused on my cooking that I hadn’t noticed the front door opening so I was just startled for a bit. But the banter had immediately reassured me that there were no more bad feelings between us. She told me how she had to say goodbye to Evi I just couldn’t help myself and felt the need to give her a big cuddle as she looked so sad. My action after that surprised even myself as I had lightly slapped her bum when I had pointed her with a glass of wine towards the couch.

All during dinner I got a little bit more nervous the closer we got to dessert. We first talked about what had happened in Los Angeles until I couldn’t wait for it anymore. I got the gift , gave it to her, confessing my feelings to her. I saw tears trickling down her face but didn’t know if they were happy or sad tears. She then finally told me that she had developed feelings for me too and wanted to give us a go. What happened after that was still a bit of a blur in my head but I can still sense the kisses on my lips even now. It felt like we both were pouring all of emotions in each kiss we shared. How I loved the small noises she had made when I hit her weak spots. Makes me wonder what noises she will make when she is lying naked underneath me entwined in the sheets. I should stop thinking about it or I would want to wake her up and try immediately. But she had asked to take things slow which I respected as I wanted to give us as much chances in succeeding as possible. Plus it wasn’t going to be become very easy for her once the press was going to found out about our relationship. Not only will they want to have pictures of us together but probably add some nasty articles with them how she slept her way up the ranking or is in a relationship with me for just the money or fame. Which I knew were bullshit as she didn’t care for any of this, she just wants me for who I am not because I’m a famous actor. I was so relieved that she had agreed to stay with me tonight, tomorrow we can discuss how we are going to go further if she is going to move everything from upstairs to the first floor or just the things she needed. When she had emerged earlier from the bathroom I couldn’t help but gaze at her. She was just wearing her pajamas (shorts and a top) with her hair in a messy bun , her glasses on and still I felt like the luckiest man alive. Finally she was going to be next to me meaning I could hold her the entire night. As much as she wanted to take it slow I had seen her check out my bum when I came out of the bathroom so I guess she just needs a little encouragement. It felt so good when she snuggled into my arms ,where she still is now, probably exhausted from all the emotions as she fell asleep immediately. Hearing her relaxing breathing made me relax that I soon fell asleep too.

**** **Sofie** ****

I woke up the next morning for a second not knowing where I was until reality caught up with me and I heard a soft snoring close to my ear. I turned my head to see that Richard was still fast asleep lying on his tummy facing me , his hair was in every direction possible with his mouth slightly opened. I crawled out of bed as silent as I could be to head into the bathroom. I wanted to return to bed to snuggle with him but having a look at the time I needed to get myself ready, have breakfast and start to work. I made my way back to my old room to take a shower, braided my still wet hair, put my clothes on, wearing my new necklace I had gotten and went into the kitchen. As I seated myself at the dining table with my normal mixture for breakfast and a good cup of coffee I saw that I had received a text message from Connor.

<<Please get Richard to call me as soon as possible when he is awake. Something urgent needs to be talked about.<<

I texted back to him.

<<Okay, will do that.<<

I was finishing of the last part of my breakfast when I heard footsteps coming down the stairs as nerves hit me. Why was I nervous in the first place as it was basically my boyfriend who was awake coming down those stairs. Maybe it was the boyfriend part that made me nervous as this was a whole new dimension to our relationship. Richard entered the kitchen still yawning rubbing his eyes with his hair all over the place wearing his favorite kimono over his pajamas. He came over to me and kissed me softly.

‘Good morning baby , did you sleep well ?’ he asked while fetching a cup of coffee. Hearing him say his pet name for me made me feel all tingly inside as I was still getting used to him saying them.

‘Good morning sweetie , yes I did sleep very well. I hope I didn’t wake you up? I tried to be as quiet as possible.’

He sat next to me at the dining table.

‘No no no not all, I was waking up when I felt this empty spot next to me so I knew you were up already. I wanted to be near you that is all.’ I bent over to give him a kiss.

‘That is such a romantic thing to say.’ I winked at him. ‘Not to kill your romantic mood but I received a message from Connor saying that you urgently have to call him , you need to talk about something he says.’

‘Oh god’ Richard moaned. ‘ Can’t he just leave me alone and let me enjoy my time with my girl no? Well I will go into the office and call him from there. Do you need your laptop so you can start already or will you wait ?’

‘No, I’m gonna start already as I have some catching up to do with being off the past 4 days.’

We both made our way into the office where I took my laptop with charger so Richard could call Connor to hear what is so urgent. I started to make my way out when he grabbed my arm, pulled me close and gave me a searing kiss before letting me go again. As I shut the door he winked at me while saying ‘Laters baby’. I installed myself at the dining table so I could go through all of the e-mails. I hadn’t logged in for 5 minutes when I received a chat message from Elliott.

<<So how are you doing? How did it go last night?<<

<<I’m doing great thanks for asking. Last night was amazing Richard had made dinner for the both of us. We had a great time chatting.<<

<<Just chatting? ;-)<<

<<Really? That curious are we? But if you want to know no not just chatting.;-)<<

<<Yeah !!!!!! You two are now my favorite couple so I have to find a nickname for you now. But I’m happy you finally cleared it all and really talked to each other.<<

<<Elliott , we have decided to take things slow so no nickname or no weird innuendos on social media please.<<

<<Who me? I wouldn’t dare to do that J. But I get what you are saying. Have you heard about Australia yet?<<

<<No, I haven’t heard a thing about Australia but Richard is calling Connor right now so will hear it soon.<<

<<Just let me know how many rooms the production has to book that is all ;-)<<

I was curious what Australia was about but I would hear it soon as the phone call had finished. While going through the e-mail I saw that the dates for both the Kingsman 3 premiere as the filming for Bodyguard season 2 were known. I checked both in the agenda blocked them so nothing new could be added anymore. For season 2 it meant filming from half June until nearly Christmas which was a very long period but meant that Richard would be in London that whole time too. I was still sifting through the e-mails when I heard the office door opening with Richard saying ‘Sof , we are going to Australia’.

‘What did you say Richard? We are going to Australia when , where , why? ‘ I quizzed.

‘Connor had talked to me about a movie project in Australia a couple of weeks ago but brought it to my attention again earlier this week. They were really interested in signing me on sooner but they only got very last minute permission to film in Sydney so they could only get started now. It is something really interesting and different. It is a smaller bad guy character in a gangster movie. We are leaving tomorrow to start shooting on Monday 12th April until 2nd May so we are back in time for the GQ shoot. You are coming along with me as with the time difference it would be too difficult for us to work plus you will be my PA on set as you know me best and we have only so little time to prepare they didn’t wanted to hire a stranger for that.’ Richard said excitingly as I walked over to him.

‘Rich, that is fabulous news to hear. You had talked about wanting to play another bad guy before plus a gangster movie sounds like a lot of fun. Will you have enough time to prepare yourself if we leave tomorrow already?’

‘They are going to send over the call sheet for the first 3 days so I can look at those scenes, learn my dialogue on the flight over so I might need your help with them. Wardrobe fittings will the first day but they have asked for my measures already which Gareth is going to send to them. Besides that we just have to pack our suitcases for tomorrow. The production is going to book 2 business class tickets to Sydney to leave tomorrow plus 2 rooms in the hotel. The confirmations will be sent over to you today. I couldn’t say to Connor that they only had to book one room.’

‘Regarding those dialogues you know you can count me in giving my fabulous track record in sleeping on flights I will be awake the whole time anyway. I will keep an eye out on those confirmations but 2 rooms might not be bad after all either if you need space to prepare yourself then I can always go sleep in the other one.’

Richard pulled me towards him, held me tight flush against him and looked me straight in the eyes.

‘Baby, I’m gonna cross the line for a minute now. There will never be a moment that I want to be separated from you in fact I will probably need all of your support over there. Even if it only means that after a night time shoot I can crawl into bed against you and just hold you. So that second room will be empty for the entire time I will tell you.’ He said as he bent over to kiss me.

‘Honey, only promise me that when you feel the need for space some time alone you tell me straight away. So I can give it to you whenever you need it. ‘

‘I promise you I will do that.’ He gave a soft kiss on my nose. ‘ I’m going to get ready as Connor asked to swing by the office for some documents. I won’t be long gone as I need to pack my suitcases.’

After we said our goodbyes (which were so against the set rules but once in Sydney they would be followed to the letter) I spent most of the day in catching up on work , getting hold of the flight and hotel confirmations and packing my own suitcases. Having done the press tour before I knew what to pack except this time I didn’t have to take much fancy clothing with me just a little bit. I mostly packed easy working clothes , shoes etc…. I decided to pack 2 lingerie sets too as I thought they would come in handy at one point. We spent the rest of the evening making sure we had packed everything , checking up on passports ,visa stamps , packing our cabin luggage and getting an early night in as the departure was at 5am already. On the flights over to Sydney Richard and I were seated next to each other so we could work on his lines for the first days of shoot. When we arrived at our hotel ‘The Langham hotel’ we both checked in for our own separate room: I had an deluxe room on 1st floor and Richard had a suite on the 3rd floor. On the flight over we had decided that the first night we would sleep in our own rooms just to keep appearances. Plus we were both knackered when we had arrived after the long flights, the time difference that we both could use a good night’s sleep before starting this new chapter.

**** **Richard** ****

It had all happened so quickly: Connor calling me, offering me the part in the gangster movie, accepting it and start prepping for the trip. When he had talked about it for the first time it was something that had interested me. Playing John Reid had been such a great change from playing a prince or a romeo type of character to a real bad guy. This new part was another new step on the ladder in my career as I would be able to show the world I could play something else too. Sure it was a very short time preparing but it was manageable. My dialogues for the first days of shooting we could rehearse on the flight over to Sydney. I knew from the press tour that Sofie had issues sleeping on an airplane anyway so she could help me with it, finally I could see her using her acting skills she only had used in her local theater company back home. When I got home later that afternoon she had already started packing , put our passports ready so I just had to finish my packing , get my cabin luggage bag ready making sure I had the script, documents etc… with me. That night it took me a bit longer to fall asleep being a bit nervous for the first days to come. We managed to cover all of my dialogues that I was going to need in the first days of shooting , the cabin crew even let us use the galley so we could add some movement to it. By the time we arrived in Sydney we were both so tired that check-in was happening on auto pilot. On the flight over we had talked about how we were going to go ahead hotel wise and came to an agreement that the first night we would spend apart after which Sofie would move into my suite for the rest of the shoot. I had already called with the manager of the hotel and it wasn’t an issue to cancel 2nd room for the rest of the stay. I missed having her with me that first night , feeling her warm body against but was happy to be able to get a good night of sleep.

I was nervous the next morning when I woke up cause I hadn’t met anyone of the movie yet so had no idea what to expect. Sofie came to my room with her luggage before we both went to breakfast and felt something was up.

‘Honey, what is wrong? I can tell by your face something is not right?’ she quizzed.

‘Mo leannan, I’m just nervous. I have only read the script for this and had one skype call with the director. This is the first time I’m going in blind into a project.’

Sofie came over where I was standing and put her arms around me.

‘You are such a diverse actor so this gangster type will be a search at the start but I’m sure you will find him really quickly. Knowing you as a person I’m pretty sure you will get along with everyone on set. Just believe in yourself sweetie which I do already. If you need me I will be around the set so just look for me even if it is just for a cuddle. Don’t let that Flodden effect kick in.’ she winked.

It was so refreshing to not have to go through another a movie shoot on my own but have someone beside me who believes in me.

‘Baby, your support means so much to me. Just wanna be through these first few days so that I can relax a bit more. Once they have passed it will all be different I promise.’

I lowered my head until my lips were softly caressing hers before giving her a searing kiss which took all my willpower to break off or we wouldn’t make it to breakfast or even on set if she had let me. After breakfast we made our way over to the movie set , this morning would be wardrobe fittings with a final start shooting later in the day.

**** **Sofie** ****

When we arrived on set we were both in our working mood so it was pretty easy to keep it all very professional. Richard was whisked off into wardrobe for his fittings so I installed my things in his trailer before wandering around on the set. I went around meeting everyone who were all so nice , inviting and friendly. As I had to juggle between both PA jobs they had provided a walkie talkie for me so I could work in Richard’s trailer when I was not needed on set, if he needed me then they would call me over which was so kind of them. The movie set had a relaxing kind of feeling but you could sense the hard work they were doing too. I watched the first shoots of the day so I had a sense of the type of movie. The director was really clear on what she wanted the actors to give her but also let them have some room to play with the kind of acting Richard loves. It reassured me he would settle in really quickly with the cast and his character. That morning I noticed the look on his face saying that he was anxious , nervous to start this with the limited preparation time he had have.

I went back into the trailer so I could start checking the latest things that had been emailed plus check with Elliott if something really important or urgent had come up. I was so focused on work that I had hardly heard the door opening of the trailer.

‘Sof’

‘Sof’

‘Earth to Sofie!’ what do you think of it?’

Richard was standing in front of my made up little desk I was using.

‘Rich, sorry I was busy with something. What did you say? I asked.

He chuckled. ‘I noticed you were focused on something there. I had to nearly yell your name to get a reaction. What do you think of my costume , the hair? I have a few more like these ones in different colors.’

I really looked at him for the first time taking him in and I had to swallow really hard. The whole costume reminded me of a modern version of Tony Montana from Scarface as he was wearing: a custom tailored fitted 3 piece suit in charcoal grey with a small white stripe, a crisp white shirt with 2 lose buttons showing off the gold necklace around his neck, a white pocket square plus some sunglasses. They had blow-dried his hair with the grey streak prominent on display all keeping his scruff beard which was nicely trimmed. He looked really breathtaking in that getup which made it even harder to really focus.

‘Wow, that is one amazing look Rich. Really suits you very well I have to say, it fits the movie perfectly. I had a look on set earlier today when I went to meet everyone. You don’t need to worry about the director , she really knows what she wants but she gives you some room to experiment too and your co-stars are really nice. You don’t need to worry.’

‘I will know it soon enough as I’m on my to set now but just wanted to show you the look. Giving by your reaction I know all I need, going now but will see you later.’ He said while making his way out of the door.

I really needed to work on my focus if I wanted to be able to do any work in these 3.5 weeks or it is just the hormones raging through my system. It was time to take our relationship to the next level and get rid of them but the issue was now to find the right time for that.

The next few days were pure mayhem schedule wise. They were so pleased with how things were working out with Richard and his character that they decided to add a couple of extra scenes. This meant that because we were only there for a limit time more hours of shooting were necessary. We both were on set from early in the morning until late in the evening Richard acting and me juggling the 2 jobs. By the time we got back to the hotel we only had time to get ready for bed because when our heads touched the pillow we were out. On Friday of the first week we finally wrapped for the first time in the early afternoon, the work from the UK had died out too so we made our way back to the hotel.

‘Mo leannan?’

‘Yes sweetie?’ I asked as my head was lying on his shoulder getting a chance to relax for the first time in a week. Richards arm was draped around my shoulder while softly caressing my arm.

‘What would you say if we changed and went out for dinner at a nice restaurant tonight instead of ordering something?’

I lifted my head so I could look into his eyes.

‘I would love to do that. Just spent some time alone with you and nobody else being away from the hotel.’ I smiled.

‘Well that’s a date then our first one to be precise. When we arrive in the hotel I will ask the concierge to make us a reservation somewhere.’ Richard said

‘Good idea.’ I said while pressing a kiss onto his lips.

When we arrived at the hotel I already went upstairs while Richard went to speak with the concierge to arrange something for that evening. I opened up my closet in search of something nice to wear for our date. I pulled out one the lingerie sets that I had packed to wear underneath my vintage chic cinnamon pencil dress. It was just enough dressed up for a date night but not too formal either. I chose to wear my black heels , taking a black cardigan with me in case it go chillier later. I took a relaxing hot shower before getting ready: I had braids in my hair the past couple of days so I when undid them my hair was wavy so I just pinned the top part of it together while letting the rest fall loose on my shoulders, applied some light make up on, put the lingerie, dress and heels on. As I emerged out of the bathroom I just took my cardigan, my handbag with me and made my way into the living area where Richard was sitting on the couch reading something on his phone. He looked up and I could visibly see him gulp so my outfit had the same reaction as his movie one. He stood up to make his way to me.

‘Baby, you look stunning.’ He said while eyeing me up at the same time. ‘That dress is just perfect together with those heels. I will have to do my very best now.’ He smirked.

I wrapped my arms around him. ‘Honey, you still look amazing even in a dust bag so I’m not worried at all.’ His hands were travelling over my lower back making their way to my bum.

‘I better get ready then so we can start our date night.’ Richard planted a kiss on my lips as he made his way into the bedroom. I took a seat on the couch while checking through my messages and personal e-mails to kill the time. When he finally emerged from the bedroom he was wearing one of his tailored black suits with a black dress shirt. He gave me some of his things to put in my handbag as we made our way out of the door. Holding hands we made our way down to the lobby into the waiting car where Richard put his hand on my knee and I had covered it with my hand.

‘Rich, what restaurant are we going to?’

‘That is a surprise but you are going to love it that I can assure.’

We rode in silence to the restaurant while each taking in the scenery of Sydney. The car stopped in front of a small Italian restaurant. I looked at Richard who just winked while getting out of the car. He knew I loved Italian especially this type of little restaurants as they were the most authentic ones. He opened up my door, helped me out of the door and guided me to the restaurant , he was being such a gentleman. The owner of the restaurant came over to greet us and showed us to our table. The restaurant was just a small one with very few tables scattered around each in their own little corner. The menu was limited but still you had enough things to choose from. We spent the rest of the evening talking, laughing, drinking and trying some of those delicious treats on the menu. Nobody bothered us or came over for a selfie so we could just spent the time as a normal couple on a date night. Somewhere I knew this would be very difficult in London so we had to enjoy our time that we had there. When it was time to head back to the hotel we were both slightly buzzed, could hardly keep our hands off each other but kept it decent until we got back to the room.

As I had the key to the room I was in charge of opening it while Richard was launching an attack on my neck kissing, nibbling it while his hands were roaming all over my body. It took me a few attempts before I could open the door as he pushed us both inside our room. I was still closing the door when his hands grabbed my hips, turned me around and pushed me against it. His lips met mine so vigorously that I smacked my head right against the door. The noise of my head colliding with the door broke Richard’s trance he was in.

‘Baby, sorry sorry did I hurt you? Tell me are you hurt?’

I rubbed my hand at the back of my head. ‘No, I’m fine probably just a slight bump in the morning that is all.’

He rested his forehead against mine and gazed into my eyes. I could sense that he felt guilty for smacking me against the door so I took his hand guiding him into the bedroom as I needed to do something to take his mind of it. We stood at the end of our massive bed when I leaned into him to kiss him. My hands found their way into the nape of his neck into the curls working my fingers through them. He snaked his arms around me pulling me into him until we were flush against each other. Our kiss started gently but with time became more passionate, deepen until I could find his tongue intertwining with mine. This felt so good but wasn’t enough anymore. My hands went from his neck to the buttons of his jacket , opened them, moved to the lapels and shoved it off. Next I went to where his shirt that was tucked into his pants , pulled at it , slowly started to open each button from the bottom up until they were all open and pushed it off. My fingers ran their way through his luscious chest hair caressing it finally having full access to it.

Richards hands that had been on my lower back made their ways to my hips pushing me away a bit while he broke the kiss. Losing the contact made me pout.

‘Mo leannan, don’t pout like that or I won’t be able to control myself anymore. But it appears I’m wearing fewer clothes then you so let’s make it even.’

His hands turned me around so I was with my back to him, pulled me back against him, slowly sucking at my weak spot underneath my ear which was at the same place as his. This made me moan just a little bit as I was already so sensitive and horny. I could sense his low voice vibrating against my ear which made me close my eyes.

‘I’m going to make sure you will make that noise again, again and again. I wanna hear you say my name when you come.’

He started kissing my neck again as I could feel his fingers making their way to the zipper of my dress, unzip it and pushing it off my shoulders. He turned me around so he could get a full look of the lingerie set. His mouth slightly gaped so one point for me there.

‘So you have been wearing this all night under that dress of yours. If I had known that I would have asked for dessert to be boxed for later.’

‘You like it then ?’

‘Like is not the right word I would use but let me show how much I love it.’

As he pulled me flushed against him again I could feel his bulge pressed against my core. This encouraged me to deepen our passionate kiss again. My fingers travelled from his chest hair to his pants opening the button , undid the zip and let it slip on the floor. My hands roamed to his perfect bum to give it a light squeeze which earned me a very satisfying deep groan from him. We both broke the kiss just long enough to kick off our shoes , Richard urged me to jump into his arms so he could place me on the bed. Still sitting up I unclasped my bra , threw it at him and scooted further on the bed. Instead of just making his way up to me he decided to kiss his way up.

He made a start at my ankle: kissing every inch of my lower leg, my knee, my thigh until he reached my still covered clit. Instead of just kissing he made little sucking kisses on it which together with his scruff gave such a wonderful, tantalizing feeling. I could sense my breathing getting slightly quicker as he attacked my sensitive pearl. A moan escaped from me making him chuckle that vibrated against my clit giving me tingling sensations all over my body. I could sense an orgasm building in my lower belly as my fingers travelled into his hair messing his curls up completely. He could sense I was nearly there as he left my nub to restart his kissing journey.

‘Not yet mo leannan not yet. I want you to come when I’m inside you not before that.’

His fluffy lips made their way up from my belly until they reached my left breast taking in my nipple using his sucking movement from earlier. I just couldn’t take this senses overload anymore so I closed my eyes. His attention went from my left breast to my right breast where he repeated his magic trick. When he finally thought it was enough he left my breasts to my neck right up to my ear.

I whimpered ‘Richard , please now. Don’t make me wait anymore please.’ As I could feel myself spontaneous combust anytime now if he wouldn’t stop with the kissing and give me what I wanted.

He gave a small kiss on the nose , moved off me to the side of the bed. He opened the nightstand to take out a condom. I lifted up my bum to get my soaking panties off at the same time as he took his boxershort off so he could roll the condom on. He moved back onto the bed towards me to line his cock up at my entrance. He looked me in the eyes and after a small nod of me inched in slightly. He inched in slowly until he was fully in me letting me get used to him. His cock wasn’t massive but bigger then my previous boyfriends.

‘Baby, we will take this as slow as you want to you set the pace.’ He whispered in my ear.

It took me a couple of seconds to get used to the feeling and relax. As he visibly saw me relax he started to pull out and slowly push in again as we soon found a rhythm that suited us both best. He grabbed my knee, pulled it up so that the angle changed ever so slightly and I could feel him entering me even deeper than before. I had bitten on my lip to hold back any moans but I couldn’t anymore as Richard was also kissing my neck at the same time so the room was soon filled with moans. With one hand he was holding my knee up with the other one planted firmly on my hip to keep me in place so that would leave a severe bruise. My moans spurred him on to pick up the pace which lead to even more moans but this time from both of us. My earlier orgasm was building up again I could sense it in my lower belly.

‘Let go my darling let go.’ I could hear in a low groaning Scottish bur in my ear.

His little encouragement was all I needed to let the orgasm take me over completely. It wasn’t even finished when Richard let go of my hip to use his devilish fingers on my now very sensitive clitoris.

‘You haven’t said my name when you came so we are not finished yet.’

His lips found mine again starting a searing kiss while keeping up his pace and massaging my clit. I could sense another orgasm building.

‘Baby, I can’t hold it much longer so you just have to ride it out now.’

My walls were tightening around him preparing my own release when I whispered ‘Richard’ into his ear as my own orgasm hit me wave after wave. This was enough to set him off as his trusts were becoming more sloppy until I could feel him orgasm inside of me. As I was still riding out my own orgasm my walls were still quenching around his cock basically milking him. It felt like I had disconnected from my own body for a couple of seconds before he collapsed on top of me both covered in sweat. After a couple of minutes of trying to catch our breathes Richard pulled slowly out of me, discarded the used condom in the bathroom to come back to bed into my arms. I could sense that he was relaxing as he breath grew deeper eventually to the point where he fell asleep. I covered him with the sheets of the bed , went into the bathroom to get ready myself for bed. As I returned back from the bathroom I stopped to look at him still not believing he really was there with me. I crawled back into bed into his arms and fell asleep quickly myself.

**** **Richard** ****

As I woke up the next morning I let my mind wander to the previous night which had just been perfect. The concierge really had proposed the perfect restaurant for the both of us, I knew she liked Italian food a lot as much as I. Not only was the food delicious but also the ambiance in the restaurant was amazing. It was a small intimate one which meant we could both relax more as chances were slim that somebody would recognize me. It was just the best night: eating some delicious dishes , getting slightly buzzed by the alcohol but most of all we just talked, laughed the whole time getting time to spend with this gorgeous woman was all I needed. We really were a normal couple out on a date getting to know each other even more. Although there was some kind of electricity in the air between us the entire evening I didn’t think it would end with just sleeping this time. It was so difficult not to just devour her in the backseat of the car but we somehow could keep it decent until we arrived at the hotel. The closer we got to the room the less resistance I had so when we got to the door I just needed to feel he , kiss her. I must have been in a trance cause I only snapped out of it when I heard a loud thud of Sofie hitting her head against the door. I felt so sorry that I had hurt her as it wasn’t my intention to do that. She didn’t seem to be bothered by it as she lead me towards our bedroom to start the rest of the evening. As she took off her dress I had to gulp as I never had imagined that she was wearing something so delicate underneath it: a black lacy deep cleavage bra embroidered with an intricate pattern and some hotpants with the same pattern. If I had known she was wearing this I would have brought her back sooner. I could see in her eyes she felt insecure in showing it to me so I showed her clearly what she did to me. I kissed my way up from her ankle to her lips worshipping every little inch of her and almost made her come but I wanted to hold that one until I could feel her around me. The moans that escaped her where a delight to hear I just wanted to hear more of them. Wanting and needing to hear her to say my name when she finally came confirming she was mine. She begged me to stop the kissing as I understood what she really wanted so I grabbed a condom, got aligned at her entrance and entered very slowly. It was such an intimate moment between us that I tried to hold off my own release as long as I could by trying to find the perfect rhythm to help with it. Sensing she was getting near to her climax I urged her to let go which she did by whispering my name in my ear. Just that one word just drove me over as I could sense her walls already clenching around my cock. We both rode out our orgasms after which I went to discard the condom and get back to her. We didn’t need to say anything as we just felt what we wanted to say by holding on to each other. Soon I could feel myself drifting asleep.

Sofie was still asleep curled up in my arms so I slowly unwrapped myself from her and made it into the bathroom. Today we were starting later so I didn’t have to rush to get ready. I selected a random playlist from my phone while I started the shower to get it to the right heat. I made sure the sound wasn’t too loud as I didn’t wanted to wake her up. In the shower I could feel the water working his effects on my strained muscles. Not only from last night but also from the previous days on set, it had been rather physical with a lot of fighting scenes. I let the heat work on them as I felt the tension getting less and less by the minute. I had started to hum along with the music that was filling the bathroom as for me that was the only real place where I could let go without feeling embarrassed. I could hear Queen ‘s ‘Crazy Little Thing’ starting which was a great song so I sang along with it. Finishing my shower I grabbed one of the fluffy towels drying myself off a bit and wrapping it around my waste. I hadn’t taken any clothes with me to the bathroom so I opened the door to the bedroom and walked into it. Sofie had woken up in the meantime still draped in the sheets now looking at me.

‘Morning mo leannan , hope I didn’t wake you up.’ I said while walking over to the wardrobe.

I could see a heat rising in her eyes as she basically looked me up and down, biting her lower lip undressing me with her eyes which I could see had landed on my bum. I had caught her before looking at it so I decided to play a little game with her.

‘So you like what you say then baby girl?’ I teased while making a small twirl to show it all.

‘Yes, I like very much what I’m seeing. Do you like what you are seeing ?’ she retorted with a glint in her eye as she dropped the sheet she had used to cover up.

Giving me a full view of her breasts which to me were perfect just big enough to fit in my hands even with that massive scar between them. She had been worried about her scar she had confessed as she thought it would make her less attractive to me. After last night she knows now that is far from that as it is part of her body and part of the total package that I love. Her dropping the sheet was the sign for me to just drop my towel on the ground while strutting over to the bed. As soon as I arrived she dragged me into it right on top of her. The night before was all about making love, being gentle with each other. This morning it was a different kind of sex more passionate, fast, hard as we both wanted to ravish the other one. By the time we had ended both rounds we both needed another shower which we took together cleaning off the sweat. After getting ready for another day on set we had a quiet breakfast together before jetting off.

**** **Sofie** ****

I was slowly waking up when I felt the empty cold space next to me in bed so Richard wasn’t there anymore. I tried to pull my eyes open so I could focus on the room on the noises I could hear too. I heard the water running in the bathroom so he was taking a shower. Totally stretching myself like a feline I could feel some muscles complaining a bit as I made it myself comfortable in bed. He had turned his music on in the bathroom I could hear as it was just loud enough to reach into the bedroom hearing a deep voice from the shower singing along with the song playing. I always loved to hear him sing even though he only did it when showering. I had heard it before when I was still sleeping on 2nd floor as my bathroom was on top of his. He probably thought I couldn’t hear him but he sang quit loud but I had never said a word about it to not embarrass him. One of my fondest memories was hearing him sing to ‘Addicted to Love’ by Robert Palmer. I could hear the song changing and recognized immediately the intro as it was one from Queen whom I totally adore. It was ‘Crazy Little Thing’ and Richard was really going for it with his signing this morning making me giggle a bit. If only he would sing to me for once instead of me having to eves drop like now. I could hear the water stop so he must have finished with his shower. We had a late start today on set so we had a lot of time to get ready, I could surely use a nice relaxing hot shower myself which I would take once he had finished in the bathroom. I saw the knob of the door turning as Richard came out of the bathroom.

I could hear him say something but my mind didn’t register it due to the magnificent view I had. Richard came out of the bathroom only wearing a towel loosely draped around his waist just showing off the light V shape he had. As he was still working out he had a light hint of a six pack underneath his happy trail which covered a small patch of his belly starting at his belly button. I could still remember the happy trail leading to his manscaped pubic hair and that marvelous cock of him. My eyes travelled up towards his chest still slightly broad, muscles but not too much. It was covered by his chest hair: a dark patch in the middle stretching from his belly button up until just above his nipples. His chest hair got a little bit lighter the closer you get to his nipples which were also slightly covered by it. His chest hair runs up until his adam’s apple so it can be seen every now and then depending what he was wearing so I gave it a pet name the hide and seek chest hair. Richard was the first man I was dating that was this carpeted but I loved it. It feels so soft when you go through it with your fingers. He must have only slightly dried himself of before wrapping the towel around him as I could see water drops still glistening on his chest. They were slowly trickling down his chest to his belly into the towel. His hair was still damp standing in all directions as he just rubbed the towel through it. My eyes travelled to his bum that was still covered but memories from last night came back to me when I had that bum in my hands which felt so perfect. It was just the right kind of firm, round not too big or too small. As I was looking him up and down I could feel myself getting all hot, bothered and wet just by looking at him not being able to resist the urge to bite my lip. He must have sensed he had an effect on me cause he changed to a playful mood calling me baby girl with a deep Scottish drawl which was a new one for me while doing a small turn to be sure I had seen it all. Somehow hearing him say that gave me a boost of confidence as I just dropped the sheet I was holding, pulled my shoulders back so I could show him what he was missing. He dropped the towel giving me full view strutting over to me with a semi-hard on already. As he got to the bed I just couldn’t wait anymore so I dragged him into it. We both had this need to find our release really quickly as we fucked really fast and hard. I tried my best not to leave any marks on him as he had to shoot but it didn’t mean he didn’t leave his marks on me but on spots that I could cover easily. As it was a passionate game it didn’t last that long as the previous night but by the time we had rested a bit from round 1 we both were ready again for round 2. Finally feeling satisfied we took a shower together getting rid of the smell of sex and sweat. After some well-earned breakfast we made our way to the set to start the day.

The next 2 weeks consisted of basically the same routine. The time we had together we spent in bed either making love but most of the time just sleeping as it were long tiring days on set. The time we did made love it was a mixture of slow and fast depending how much time there was. Sometimes we didn’t make it to the bedroom so we christened a couple of surfaces of the suite too or had sex in the shower. We tried it a couple of times on set on one of those long days but got caught nearly every time so we just tried to keep it just professional there. Finally Richard finished shooting just in time for us to return to London, the movie promised to be a very good one which I was looking forward to seeing it. Opening the door to the house felt like I was returning home but I was worried too. In Sydney we could act like a normal couple with little fans coming up to Richard and no paparazzi present. This would all change now we were back home again in a city where people recognize him but more importantly the ever present paparazzi. That would be a new hurdle for us to cross but first we had to get through the GQ photoshoot. Elliott had told me that the concept had slightly changed but had not told any details. I was sitting on the couch lost in thought when Richard got back from the fitting.

‘Babe, where are you?’ he called from the front door.

‘I’m in here Rich.’

He walked into the sitting area, gave me a soft kiss before getting something to drink from the kitchen as he sat next to me.

‘How was the fitting? Elliott told me they changed the concept but with no details.’ I enquired.

He took a sip of his bottle of beer. ‘Yeah, they have swapped the car for a motorcycle Triumph brand. So the clothing is now a James Dean kind of vibe. Lots of jeans , t-shirts , leather jacket and biker boots.’

Still with my mind drifting to earlier I just vaguely replied to him. ‘Oh good sounds good.’

He raised his eyebrows ‘Well , given that enthusiastic reaction I know something is wrong. Tell me Sof what is on your mind?’ he said as he rubbed my leg.

‘Sorry honey, you’re right that was a lame reaction. I was just thinking how Sydney was amazing as we were just a normal couple over there. It will all change now we are back here in London.’ I sighed.

‘There is a very easy solution for it you know? We just keep going out like we did in Sydney. Let the paparazzi take pictures and publish them. There is nothing wrong with 2 people who are in love.’

I gazed into his blue eyes that radiated so much love and warmth towards me, I took a hold of his hands.

‘I just don’t know if I’m ready for that to happen. Having my life put under the microscope by the tabloids, fans criticizing my every move or clothing. Having people think I’m sleeping my way up. I don’t want to keep us silent like before Sydney but maybe just take baby steps for now. ’ I confessed.

He shifted his hands so they were now holding mine.

‘Mo grâdh , I won’t let anyone hurt you in any form or way you can trust me with that. They will have to go through me first before they can ever touch you. What do you say about date night on Friday? Then the whole GQ is done and we have some time just the two of us?’

‘Date night sounds great to me. By then I will hopefully gotten through everything else as well. I do also have some sad and exciting news for you. Sad part is that Kingsman 3 is being postponed but the exciting is that your next movie premiere is for Thursday 3rd June with it being the new Jurassic Park movie.’

I could see his eyebrows raising , his eyes glistening with excitement and a big smile crossing his face.

‘That is indeed exciting news too bad for the Kingsman premiere though. I was looking forward in doing another event with Taron.’

‘Oh but he will be at the Jurassic Park premiere too I got that confirmation from Elliott earlier already. So you can be partners in crime on the red carpet or each other’s plus one.’ I snickered.

‘Really you think that is funny Taron being my plus one I will teach you a lesson.’

He pinned me down on the couch with one hand holding both of my arms while the other one was tickling me. He was to forceful so I couldn’t fight him off me. He only stopped when I raised the white flag and pleaded him to stop. My sides and muscles were still hurting by the time we went to bed that night.

**** **Richard** ****

The Sydney shoot had been so busy that we didn’t get much free time to explore the city. But we didn’t really care about missing it as we were far too busy with other things then sightseeing. I still couldn’t believe that we only got nearly caught on set that one time as it had been very close. I just had enough time to pull my pants back on in time as the AD entered my trailer to call me back on set. He couldn’t have seen Sofie as I was completely blocking her from view while she hurried in putting her clothes back on. This made us decide to keep our hands to ourselves on set and not tempt faith any further. That didn’t mean we didn’t let go once we were back in the hotel room but sometimes it was just only cuddles before sleeping. I wrapped my part a couple of hours before we had to fly back I felt exhausted but so satisfied by it. It had been a marvelous project , one I was glad I had said yes too looking forward in seeing the finished product later when it premiered. We were both so tired that we slept for most of the flights back to London. In the car from the airport I could sense a light tension in Sofie but it could be from the long travel back.

On Tuesday morning I went to see the stylist for the GQ photoshoot. It wasn’t Gareth my usual stylist but I had worked with this one on a previous photoshoot already so I knew I was in good hands. He told me that the concept of the photoshoot had been altered. They couldn’t get the car on time anymore so they switched it to the 2020 Triumph Bonneville Speedmaster motorcycle. The outfits he showed me where James Dean style: perfect fitting blue jeans , simple white t-shirt and a leather jacket. The hair they were going to style in the same manner a messy quiff with some straight out of bed tousled hair. I had a feeling this would sit well with my girlfriend so I couldn’t wait to tell her. When I got home I just wanted to tell her so I could see her reaction. But given her lukewarm reaction I immediately knew something was off. Otherwise she would have reacted in a more enthusiastic way so I dragged it out of her. She was scared going public due to the reactions she might get by dating me. I was more used in getting comments , bad reactions , paparazzi being present because I have been longer already in the business. I could totally understand she wanted to take baby steps in this to get used to it. Even though I just wanted to show her off to the world and if anyone tried to hurt her they would get to know me very well then. She gave me also the news that I was invited for the new Jurassic Park movie in London and even joked that Taron could be my plus one as he was attending too. I couldn’t just let that one pass by so I got my revenge by tickling her until she couldn’t breathe anymore.

**** **Sofie** ****

Thursday arrived very quickly and Richard had to leave early in the morning. I was peacefully eating my breakfast when he kissed me goodbye and left the house. It was my day off but had to run some errands that day but nothing more. I had decided that I wasn’t going to go with him to the photoshoot as I wanted to see the end result in the magazine. Although I would probably get some sneak peeks to see earlier already. Ever since we got home from Sydney it seemed like the warm weather had followed us as we were having some sunny, warm days in London. Since it was my day off I decided to wear my shorts, a top and some sneakers to run my errands. My top was rather long and the short were rather short so aligned the right way you couldn’t even see I was wearing any pants. With my pilot style Ray Ban sunglasses on my nose and my small backpack I set off getting everything done. As it was such a warm sunny day I decided to walk to the shops. I was nearly done getting ready to return back to the house when I heard my phone ringing and saw it was Elliott.

‘Sir Elliott, what do I owe the pleasure in receiving this phone call?’ I could hear him chuckle on the other side of the line.

‘Well milady Fifi I’m afraid I’m calling you with some rather bad news.’ He said with a mock posh accent. ‘All jokes aside I just heard that things are going bad at the photoshoot. Nothing is going like it is supposed to be, they are way behind schedule and Richard is getting pissed off. Could you please go over there to calm him down?’

I sighed. ‘Elliott, why aren’t you going ? You can calm him down too, I said I wasn’t going to go to the shoot anyway. I was just finishing the rest of my errands and return home. Plus I’m not dressed to go to a photoshoot.’

‘Fifi, I know it is your day off but if you do this for me I will be forever thankful. I can calm him down but he is in such a mood that only you can straighten out so he looks decent on the photos. Can you please pretty please go and save this photoshoot? They won’t care what you are wearing if it will help them.’

‘Okay because you asked so nicely I will go there to arrange it all. Text me the address so I can have a look how to get there.’

He chuckled. ‘ Just take a taxi that will be the easiest solution. Just sent the receipt to me so I can claim it back with GQ that is all.’

Elliott texted me the address which I showed the taxi driver when I got in. I was already thinking about the situation that I would encounter once I arrived on set and how it would be the easiest to diffuse.

**** **Richard** ****

As I arrived on the photoshoot set that morning I took my time getting to know the people present. Gavin was the photographer for this shoot , I knew him already as he had done all of my GQ shoots before knowing how he had to guide me through to get the best possible result. It was all set up in an abandoned warehouse near the Thames river with the motorcycle being in the center of it. I wished I could take it for a spin too as it was mighty beast standing in front of me. I tried out the driver’s seat which fitted like a glove. It must be adrenaline pumping through your veins when you take this one outside to stretch her legs. Some of the crew I recognized from one of the other shoots I did so there were just a couple of new faces. I made my way into hair and make-up which took a bit longer as they wanted to get the correct look that would suit with the clothes and setting. Looking into the mirror I wished Sofie was here as she would have loved it. Or maybe it was for the best that she wasn’t here or we might not get to the shoot to start with. The stylist brought me the first outfit which was black jeans, t-shirt , a soft colored cotton jacket and some converse shoes. I made my way to the set , listened to some directions given by the photographer as we started with it all. I was happy that there was music playing as this would help me get relaxed through the day as photoshoots were still tricky for me. It was a playlist with some old time classic tracks: Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye , Nina Simone , Etta James , … just the right music era vibe to match the photos they wanted to achieve.

We soon wrapped up the first outfit so I returned to get changed into the 2nd one so we could go on with that one before having a break for lunch. I changed in navy blue form fitting jeans, a white v neck t-shirt, black leather jacket and black biker boots. They restyled my hair a bit so the quiff was a bit messier while the rest was just tousled hair. I didn’t have to shave that morning so I was sporting a nice scruff which seemed to match the look. Gavin just made me lean against the bike with my legs crossed just gazing into the camera. He wanted to get a moody bad boy vibe kind of look coming from me. We were wrapping up that second look when I saw that Sofie was standing there on set. She said she wasn’t going to come as she wanted to wait for the final result but she made it anyway. Had she been standing there for long or had she just arrived ? It seemed like she hadn’t planned on coming given the outfit she was wearing. It was a warm sunny day so I could see that she was wearing rather short shorts barely covering her bum and a long top. Seeing her standing there in that outfit I could sense that the jeans was starting to get a bit tighter in my groin area. She introduced herself to everyone on set before coming over to see me. I introduced her to Gavin and they had a small chat before turning to face me.

‘Sof, what are you doing here? Not that I’m not glad to see you?’ I asked trying my best not to let my eyes drop as her top was revealing a bit of her cleavage.

‘I was out doing some errands when I got a phone call from Elliott saying everything was going wrong here, you were getting angry and I had to make my way over to calm you down.’ She explained.

She had taken a step closer towards me.

‘No, everything has been going great nothing has happened. We were just finishing up so we can get our lunch before doing a couple of more looks and photos.’

‘I’m going to kill Elliott for this. He made it sound like a disaster was happening so I rushed over. But it appears he was playing a game with me.’

‘Well I’m glad he did that cause it meant you had to come over and you can see the concept now yourself. I hope I wasn’t looking like a fool standing here.’

‘From where I was standing it looked amazing seeing you leaning against that bike dressed like this with that stern look.’ She winked. ’I got a little bit weak in the knees I have to admit.’ She whispered.

I looked over her shoulder, saw that everyone had left the set so it was safe for us as they would be at lunch. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her flush against me starting to kiss her just underneath her ear.

‘Rich, no we can’t do it here you know what happened in Sydney.’ She whispered.

‘Baby, they are all away for lunch so they won’t come back for a while. Seeing you wearing this skimpy outfit well that does things to me. If we sneak into the dressing room nobody will come to look for us in there I just can’t wait until tonight.’

‘Are you really sure about that? I don’t want anyone to catch us.’

‘I promise you nobody will notice anything if we keep quiet.’

‘Richard you big stud, take me to bed or lose me forever’ she winked.

As we started to kiss I was gently pushing her towards the dressing room that I had been using all day. I took off the leather jacket to place it over the chair before returning my attention back to our kiss as I pushed her against the wall. As our kiss deepened I could hear a soft moan escaping from her lips which encouraged me to go further. My hands roamed down her body to the hem of her top pushing it up and over her head so she was only wearing her bra anymore. She unbuckled the belt I was wearing so she could pull at the hem of my t-shirt until I was freed of it. I was kissing my way from her lips to her neck with her hands tousling through my hair when I heard someone cough behind us. I turned around and saw Gavin standing in the doorway.

‘I wanted to check if you guys wanted some lunch but it seems like you have already.’ He smirked.

**** **Sofie** ****

As I arrived at the warehouse were the photoshoot was located I gave my name to the security. They had been informed by Elliott of my arrival so it was just a minor necessity. The guardsman showed how I had to go to the set as it was a maze of corridors inside. I only took one wrong way so as I could hear the music getting louder so I knew I was nearly there. As I walked on set I immediately noticed that there was a relaxed atmosphere with music playing, the photographer just giving Richard small directions and clicking away. I saw Richards face being all relaxed , laughing in between takes so Elliott might just have overreacted or things were already straightened out before I got there. It gave me time to have a good look at Richard. He was looking so hot, sexy, handsome in the outfit he was wearing not helped by the fact that at that exact time Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s get it On’ was playing on set. Being a cross between James Dean and Tom Cruise in Top Gun with that magnificent motorcycle behind him. How I would love to have my legs wrapped around Richard while taking the bike out for a spin. I could feel my knees getting weak by the sight of him alone but realized I needed to get a grip on myself. While Richard and the photographer were still talking I introduced myself to the crew as being Richard’s PA being sent over for an urgent request. They were all friendly welcoming me onto the set not at all giving me bad look for my outfit as most of them were wearing a similar one. Finally I got to Richard as he introduced me to Gavin who was the photographer. We had a small chat before I turned my attention to Richard who was leaning against the motorcycle keeping an eye on me.

As I suspected Elliott had used a white lie on me to get my ass over to the set. There was nothing bad happening basically everything was going great not glitches whatsoever. While talking the heat was building up between us both getting aroused but we couldn’t do anything there after the Sydney debacle. Richard made sure everyone was gone when he wrapped his arms around me to kiss the spot he knew would work on me. He finally persuaded me to go back to the dressing room as nobody would come to look for us in there as it was lunchtime. After he had taken off the jacket he worked me against the wall which felt cold against my back but I didn’t mind it as he was heating me up. Deepening our kiss I couldn’t help but moan which was just an added bonus that spurred him on. He took off my top so I thought it was fair for me to do the same. As he was kissing his way from my lips to my neck, I leaned my head against the wall with my eyes closed. When all of a sudden I could hear someone coughing first and then say.

‘I wanted to check if you guys wanted some lunch but it seems like you have already.’

I could feel Richard freeze against me while muttering a Scottish swear words against my ear. I opened my eyes to see Gavin standing in the doorway with a smirk on his face. Richard turned around protecting me from view while I was trying to get my breathe back and stop my heart from racing.

‘Gavin mate, I’m sorry I thought everyone was gone to lunch. I didn’t mean for you to see this.’ Richard apologized. ‘This was all of my idea Sofie had nothing to do with it.’

‘Rich don’t worry about it. Believe me I have seen worse things happening on sets before nothing really shocks me anymore. Don’t worry I will keep this quiet.’

‘Thanks Gavin’ I said finally finding my voice again. ‘It is me who wants to keep our relationship under the radar. I don’t want people talk or say that I’m sleeping my way up as he is technically still my boss.’

Gavin nodded ‘I get what you are saying but on the other hand you two aren’t the first persons to fall in love while working together. It happens to so many even in the same situation as you both are being boss and employee. Anyone saying you are sleeping your way up is a fool and should keep quiet. Here is my advice to you both: go for it just chose the moment you want to show it and own it. If you show yourselves as a united loving couple then nobody will dare to say something else. Now I will ask the question I was initially coming for: do you want some lunch? There is a list of things you can chose from so I would suggest you get dressed first and grab some lunch.’

Gavin turned around leaving the dressing room. I was still against Richards back who I could sense had relaxed after the initial scare when Gavin disturbed us. He grabbed mine and his t shirt so we got dressed again before cradling me into his arms.

‘Gavin is right.’ I murmured.

‘What did you say mo leannan?’

Somehow I had found some confidence in Gavin’s chat. ‘I said Gavin is right. Why would I need to be worried about what others think of us. We both know the truth which is the most important not?’

I saw a smile creeping on Richard’s face.

‘Yes, nobody else matters but us. You and I both know how the story goes which wasn’t all you seducing your bos , it was more the other way around.’ He smirked while planting a soft kiss on my nose.

‘Let’s just start with the date nights to see how they go first so I can get used to it. But date nights like a normal couple would do not the sneaky kind to avoid the paparazzi.’ I said.

‘I’m totally fine with that but you do realize one day we have do an official outing as a couple too? Date nights are fine but I want to show everyone that you are my girlfriend.’

I sighed ‘I realize we will have to do a red carpet too. One of my least favorite things in the world getting all dolled up, blinded by lights and scrutinized by the world. I could manage it when I was still your PA but this is a whole other level.’

He tilted my head so he could look straight into my eyes.

‘You know I don’t like to do them either but with you by my side I can manage it. We will help each other getting through it I promise that. I will be there for you each step of that red carpet way to support and relax you. As I said earlier already nobody will ever hurt you. I don’t want to push you in any way but how would you feel to be my official date on the premiere of Jurassic Park?’

‘That soon already!’ I exclaimed. After thinking about it for a minute or so I said. ‘Better get it out of the way sooner than later. I gladly except your invitation Mr Madden.’

We kissed for a couple of minutes before both of our stomachs were complaining about the lack of food. We made our way to the lunch tent to enjoy some food when Gavin caught my eye and winked at me. Somehow his words were the encouragement I needed to overcome my fear and finally go for it all the way. After lunch they worked for another couple of hours until it was a wrap. I had stayed on set all the while getting to know the crew better even having a lot of fun and laughs. As we made our way back to the house I couldn’t stop thinking at me saying yes to the invitation but even more what needed to happen before it.

**** **Richard** ****

As I heard Gavin’s voice behind I knew we were screwed now. We had avoided it in Sydney but clearly faith wasn’t on our side this time. I turned around to face him while making sure I was protecting Sofie not only from sight but also from not getting hurt. I apologized to Gavin hoping he would accept it but he did even more than that as he assured us he was going to keep it quiet. He continued to surprise me when he went on by giving us advice on how to go from there. He was completely correct nobody had any right judging our relationship. What he said made sense that we indeed had to choose our moment ourselves to show it to everyone, form an united front and own it. His words must have struck a nerve with Sofie too as she was agreeing with him. But the biggest surprise came after that as she agreed to make our relationship public by starting with the date nights. Somehow hearing her say that sprouted a confidence in me cause I tried to push my luck even further and talk about a red carpet outing. That might have been too early to mention as I could sense she was dawdling about it. I just felt that maybe with a small push I could win her over, she just needed a bit more confidence and I was the one who had to give it to her. So I made my final move by asking her to be my official date for the Jurassic Park premiere. Somehow luck must have been on my side as she accepted it. I can’t describe how I felt when she said yes as it meant I could show her to the world and show them she was the one I love. The afternoon flew by as I felt like walking on cloud nine. I realized she would need my help getting prepared for it but even more on the day itself.


	8. Slave to Love  – Roxy Music

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter in the love story.
> 
> They finally go to the Jurassic Park premiere. Will everything go to plan? Or will there be storm clouds on the horizon?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who keeps on reading this story. I took a long break trying to find my writing mojo back.  
> This is chapter 8 of 10 so after this there will two more chapters before it finishes.
> 
> Please leave comments if you like it , hate it ,... everything is welcome

*****Sofie*****

The next few weeks after the GQ incident were busy getting prepared to start of Bodyguard season 2 that I hardly had the time to think about what was going to happen later in June. As agreed we did have some casual date nights to get used to the new attention that we would encounter once we did the premiere. Luckily we seemed to be able to avoid most of the paparazzi so there were hardly any pictures or stories surrounding us. It felt like we were a normal couple like all other ones. Just one of the tabloid newspapers ran a rather nasty story claiming that I was using Richard to work my way up to another big celebrity or to land a big job within Troika. Since we both knew that was not the case we just laughed with it and even cracking jokes about it. Neither one of us had said the ‘L’ word yet but there was no pressure either for them to be said as we both felt it anyway. I had asked Evi to come and stay for a week prior to the red carpet event to help me choose the right dress for the occasion but also to stand in as PA together with Elliott on the night itself. Plus I would need her to be my supporting friend on the night itself too just to make sure I got through it alive. I did have some other alternative motive too but I wasn’t going to tell her that. 

*****Richard*****

The weeks after the GQ shoot were so busy for me preparing for the next Bodyguard season. I was in and out meetings with writers, the director,… just so we were sure that everything was ready when we started shooting. I really wanted that this new season was as good or even better than the first one. Not only for myself but also for all the fans of the show which we had acquired after the first season. I just hoped that this shoot went better and easier than the first one. It had asked a lot of me, made me lose myself and ultimately cost me my relationship back then. I invested and dove so hard in the role of David Budd that it nearly made me stop with acting all together, making me doubt If this was meant to be for me. It took me a real long time to be able to push it aside and find my place but more myself again. Being so happy now with Sofie I didn’t want to jeopardise this relationship too. I know she isn’t really looking forward to our first official date but I will do everything in my power to make sure it is an enjoyable experience for her. I was glad she had decided to invite Evi to help her that week as I knew with Bodyguard it would be a busy period for me already and I wouldn’t have much time for her. We had already been on a couple dates which felt so good, natural, we just had so much fun together. One of the sleazy tabloids had run a story about us with some grainy pictures and lies but that we had foreseen to happen. We both were relieved it was only one tabloid that time anyway. As she had experienced what they did to me in LA this was actually still a mild version of a made up story. She even made a joke about it the next day when Elliott called her that they were there already with the new job.

 *****Sofie*****

The day came of Evi’s arrival who was going to stay in my old bedroom as all of my things had been moved now to Richard and mines bedroom, this way we would have more time together then if she would stay at a hotel. Evi took a taxi from the Eurostar terminal to the house instead of me picking her up, as soon as she arrived we hugged. We hadn’t seen each other since April just talked on the phone or on whattsapp.

‘It is so good to see you.’ I said while hugging her. 

‘I just had to see you one last time before you move to your new work place with some hotshot superstar.’ She laughed. 

I had sent her the article the day it came out and we both were still cracking jokes about it. 

‘Well for now you will have to do with dreary London I’m afraid. So you will stay in my old bedroom as it is empty now. All the furniture is still there like you saw it last time. Just seemed more appropriate then to stuck you in a hotel.’ 

We dropped her suitcase in the corridor before settling on the couch. 

‘Yeah thanks that way we can spend more time together too. Just one thing please try and keep the noises to a minimum. I know you aren’t a frigid couple but I don’t want to know what kind of noises you guys make in the bedroom. Especially not the ones that Rich makes. Don’t mind him singing in the shower but that is where I draw the line.’ Evi laughed. 

‘Really? As if I would do that to you! I still want to be able to look you in the eyes. Not traumatise and scar you for life. I love you mate but not in that way.’ 

‘Oh so it is celibate week then? No hanky panky whatsoever? Have you informed Richard about this already? Don’t think he will be a happy camper once he hears this, will be more like grumpy cat.’ She kept on teasing me. 

‘Evi stop it!’ I playfully smacked her on the arm. 

‘Okay okay I will stop. Just want to be a fly on the wall once you tell him that.’ She smirked. ‘When are we going for dress shopping then? I guess it is together with Gareth. ’ 

‘We are meeting Gareth tomorrow to make a decision so if any alterations need to be done they still have enough time for it. But I’m so nervous about this already so what will it be on Saturday when we have the event itself?’ 

‘Stop worrying about that it will fly by I tell you. Richard will make sure you are relaxed and comfortable the whole way through it that you can be sure off. He loves you too much to just throw you into the deep end without any safety net.’ She said casually. 

‘Loves me?’ I said quietly. 

‘Yes he loves you. Any blind person can spot you both love each other just you two haven’t like always. You might not have said it out loud but it is as clear as daylight. You do love him?’ 

‘Yes I do love him with all of my heart. Can’t imagine losing him Evi and I don’t want to either. I guess that is what finding your soulmate is all about.’ 

‘I’m pretty sure that won’t happen anytime soon. You two are just too strong together to let it fall apart.’ She assured me. 

‘So tomorrow we go dress shopping plus other good new we are having a girls night. Richard is going out for dinner with Taron so we have the whole place to ourselves. Those two together stay out until the early hours so I don’t expect him home early then.’ 

‘Taron as in Taron Egerton?’ She asked surprised. 

‘Yep the one and only. You will see him on Saturday as he will be at the premiere too. I even think that he is seated with us if I can remember it correctly. After the premiere there is also an after party where we are going to altogether. You just have to take over my job for the red carpet part that’s it, the rest of the evening you are a guest.’ 

‘Oh good to know.’ Evi replied nonchalantly but I knew she had a weak spot for Taron so was curious to see how Saturday will go. 

The rest of the day we just spent catching up on all what had happened the past few weeks with both of us. I told her the full GQ story with all the details which she found so funny and amusing as I had suspected. In the evening when Richard came home Evi and I were making dinner together for the three of us. As we all went to bed she said ‘don’t forget to tell the monk about his celibacy’ before going upstairs. Watching Richards confused, raised eyebrows look made me laugh so hard. 

*****Richard*****

Today had been another long day filled with meetings and more meetings. We were in the final stretch to the beginning of filming and finally everyone was happy with the 6 scripts for the different episodes. Besides Bodyguard I had also a meeting with my manager for a new project that was on the table for a thriller. The first script sounded very promising and the part offered was the lead one but it was still very early days. I had always wanted to make a thriller so I took the script home to read it, maybe Sofie could read it to give her opinion about it. This would become a part of her life now so she had a say in this too, it would be a lot easier to take on projects she was behind. She has such a diverse taste in the movies she watches so I know I can trust her to give her honest opinion. As I opened the door I could hear noises from the kitchen filling the house with laughter. Honestly I wasn’t really in the mood for a lot of socialising due to the fact that my head was exploding from all the meetings of today but they were preparing dinner together which I really appreciated they did for me. The evening actually flew by as we had so much fun laughing with just plain stupid things. As we got upstairs Evi made this strange comment about a monk and celibacy. What had they been discussing today those two?

‘Babe, what did Evi mean with that monk comment? Something about celibacy too.’ I asked while getting ready for bed. 

Sofie laughed ‘Sweetie, she just made a comment earlier that we had to keep the noises down as she didn’t want to hear anything besides maybe your singing. I told her I wouldn’t want to do that to her and scar her for life. So she then said it is celibacy week then? And wanted to know if I had told you because that would mean grumpy cat. She was just teasing me that is all. You know how she is like.’ 

‘Oh I see so she thinks that I’m going to live like a monk this week and not touch you at all then? Just lay beside you, not touching you, not kiss you or make you come. I think we should prove her wrong because I’m pretty sure we can do all of that without any noises. ’ I grinned seductively at her. 

I grabbed Sofie by the hands, pulled her close to me and started to kiss her weak spot seeing her struggle not to give into me. Feeling like I was winning I decided to dial it up a notch. I pushed her to the bed laying her down softly. When I entered her slowly I had to kiss away the moan that escaped her mouth just to be sure. Moving slowly in and out making sure we both kept our noises to the minimum or muffled it felt even more intimate than usual not that we both screamed the house together otherwise. Picking up the pace slightly she wrapped her legs around my hip to change the angle slightly making me enter her even deeper making it harder for me to not moan. I could feel her reaching her climax so when Sofie came she muffled her cry into my shoulder by biting down in it. I had also sensed her nails digging in my butt cheeks earlier to encourage me so those would leave some marks, luckily we wouldn’t start filming yet so they could heal nicely. Still entwined in each other’s arms we soon fell in a deep sleep. In the morning I didn’t want to leave her side but I had to get ready and out the door for an early start of table reads before meeting with Taron for a long overdue dinner and catch up. Today she was going to choose her dress for Saturday and I really wanted to know what was going to be her final choice but then again I just wanted to see the full picture on the evening itself. She wasn’t going to tell me anything about the dress but Gareth would keep me informed on the process.

 *****Sofie*****

When I woke up to an empty bed that morning I was a bit disappointed that Richard was gone already. He had been so busy the past few weeks that we had hardly spent any time together at all and I really missed him. We still talked a lot on the phone or through messages but it wasn’t the same as being with him. Most of the time he was already gone out to meetings or I was still busy working when he had time free. Some days we just saw each other when we went to bed or during breakfast. Hopefully once he starts filming we will get to some bit more time together. So last night was a nice change for him to be home for dinner just having a blast together. When he suggested to prove Evi wrong I knew that I was in for trouble as he was an expert in getting his way. For that he knew all too well what were my weak spots and how to use them. When we made love it just felt so good, intimate as if we both just wanted to hang to it forever. The added challenge of keeping the noises down made it challenging but fun too. I had sensed already that I had some extra bruises where he had clung on to me plus a nice one in my neck too. Hearing him softly swearing in Scottish in my ear when he released gave me tingles all over my body. We were both so exhausted that we fell asleep cuddling straight after that.

Gotten ready quickly I made my way down the stairs to find Evi getting a cup of coffee already. 

‘Want some coffee?’ She asked. 

‘Yes please I can use one this morning.’ 

‘You look like you had a fun filled night with our favourite monk?’ 

I turned bright tomato red. ‘What ? What ? Nothing happened we just went straight to bed.’ All the while thinking it was impossible she could have heard anything.

‘Yeah right Pinocchio. Next time use some more concealer on that hickey I would suggest. That wasn’t there last night when we said goodnight.’ 

‘Oh fuck’ I smacked my own head.

‘I bet that was how you got it in the first place.’ 

‘Oh shit.’ 

‘Don’t worry I didn’t hear anything. It is just the hickey that gave it away otherwise I wouldn’t have known.’ 

‘Pfew. It is still pretty embarrassing but less than if you had heard it all. But the coffee is more for what is still to come today. I’m really scared about those dresses Evi. What if I don’t like them? Or nothing fits?’ I started to panic slightly.

‘Just breath Sof just breath. ‘Gareth is a very good stylist so he will have found sufficient dresses for you to see and choose from. There will be something in there that will be perfect for you. Just don’t panic plus I’m there for you all the way. We will go through each one slowly before making a decision.’ 

We took a taxi to the address that Gareth had sent me earlier this week which was a hotel situated in Soho where we made our way to the room where he was waiting for me. We hugged each other as soon as he had opened the door.

‘Hi Sofie, how are you doing?’ he asked curiously. 

‘Hi Gareth, I’m doing fine just a bit nervous honestly. I’m not used to designer dresses and I am scared we won’t find anything or they won’t fit at all. Let me introduce you to Evi, she is my partner in crime. She will give her honest opinion about anything I will try on but I trust her with my life.’ Evi and Gareth hugged as we made our way into the hotel room, Gareth had closed the door following us.

‘Stop worrying Sofie. I thought you would be nervous that is why I decided to do the fitting here at the hotel instead of a studio. We will find that perfect dress for you, the one that will make you feel like a million dollar. If you feel confident in the dress then the rest of the event will run as smoothly. All the dresses will fit with Richard’s tuxedo anyway that I am sure off so no need to worry about that either. Once we have found the perfect one then the seamstress will come to pin it to your body so it fits just perfectly.’ 

‘Thanks Gareth, I know you do an excellent job with Richard so I have confidence in you. I know that you normally dress only men so I appreciate you doing this for me.’

‘Well, this is also a nice challenge for me to dress a woman for once. Now let’s get the party started, there is a bottle of bubbles for us so let’s crack it open. The rack is filled with dresses that will all look good on you, keeping in mind the silhouettes we had discussed earlier from the vintage old Hollywood stars. First we will have a look at each one before you make a selection of your favourites which we will try on.’ 

Evi had opened the bottle giving me a glass of champagne, sipping from it I had look already at the dresses from afar. I was happy to see that they were each in plain black as I had nightmares of a dress in a flowery flashy color so this meant that Richard’s suit would be black as well. Feeling a bit less nervous now I had seen them already I approached the rack filled with all of these wonderful dresses all with a designer name on them. I wasn’t used to so much glitter and glamour or expensive clothing so it took me some time to feel confident enough so I could touch each. I had to find a dress with a fabric that would feel good to me something you can only obtain by touching them. Running through the rack I finally selected with the help of Gareth and Evi my favourite 5 dresses to try on and show to them. 

The first dress was a crepe one with sleeves, a sweetheart neckline with a very high split on one side. The dress looked great on the hanger but when I was wearing it I felt so eaten up by all the fabric. This one was also shot down by both of my entourage so it went back to the rack. Number two was a simple sheath dress with a diamante belt, it was simple and chic but didn’t feel good enough for me. Evi and Gareth liked it but felt the same that is was a bit too plain for the occasion, the dress would have been perfect for another occasion. Number 3 was a fit-and-flare dress but it looked like I was wearing a potato sack as it didn’t do any good for my body. Sometimes a piece of clothing looks better on the hanger then when you are wearing it. Number four was also a very simple black dress but had more of the feel I was looking for. It was a strapless one showing off just the right amount of cleavage with some embellishments on the hip. It looked plain and simple but still it had this old Hollywood feeling to it. I could easily move around in it without having the feeling that it would fall off or having to pull it up all the time. Both Evi and Gareth loved it too so it became a contender to be the final winner. I would first try one last one on which was secretly my favourite one before making the final decision. The last one was also in crepe fabric which felt comfortable to touch and wear, the silhouette was fit-and-flare like the previous one so I knew it suited me. Something made this dress more special as the other as there was a note attached to the dress written by the designer who was a not well known one. Gareth told me she wanted to give an explanation what the dress should feel like when you tried it on making sure you felt the most beautiful you had ever felt.

“Radiating old-Hollywood glamour this gown is in a statuesque fit and flare silhouette featuring sophisticated draping that contours and slims. The strapless sweetheart neckline is enhanced by detachable cold shoulder straps crafted from softly gathered crepe and rich crystal beading. The corset back is framed by linear draping and leads in a chapel train.” 

Reading the card I had already a very good feeling about it, as to me it was describing the dress I had dreamt about. As I stepped into the dress I immediately felt amazing in it while Gareth helped closing the buttons on the back. Looking into the mirror I couldn’t believe what I saw as I hardly recognised myself. Gareth’s smile already told me that this was his favourite too but I still needed to get one last approval before I knew it for sure. I stepped into the hotel room wishing she would love this dress too as much as I did as it felt like I had the perfect dress. One look at Evi’s face said more than any words she would say as she had the biggest smile possible.

‘Sof, you look absolutely amazing , gorgeous, stunning. This is the one I tell you, the dress you need to wear. I know someone who’s mouth will drop open when he sees you in this.’ She winked.

Gareth stepped in to give his opinion although I had an idea already what it would be.

‘Evi is right this is your dress. It absolutely fits you, hugging all your curves and highlighting your best features. You radiate this old Hollywood vibe which reminds me of Rita Hayworth. Which is also the look we will use to style your hair and make-up, I will call Charley later to discuss this with him. We just need to pin it down in a couple of spots to make it fit perfectly.’ 

‘Thank you both so much for your help and kind words. This dress makes me feel so special I can feel it already now without anything else, this gives me a bit of a confidence boost already. I was thinking of maybe just a simple strappy sandal and a clutch, jewellery will just draw away the attention from the dress.’

As we discussed the final details I glanced in the mirror once more just to be sure it was all real and not just a dream. After the seamstress had passed by to pin the dress for the final adjustments we said goodbye to Gareth making our way to the shops for our girls night in. We had decided to just have a light dinner but to stock up on snacks, I had already put some wine in the fridge this morning. Evi and I got comfortable on the couch with our snacks, a nice bottle of white wine and Magic Mike XXL. This was the kind of movie we watched back home too when we had a girl nights in. We knew how the movie went but still enjoyed the dancing and soundtrack very much. We were watching the big finale at the end of the movie buzzed because we had started our second bottle of white wine already whooping along like all the other women on the screen when Evi turned to me.

‘See they are just doing an act like you have to do on Saturday , they aren’t full of confidence either but just find a personality that does has that. Remember when we did that burlesque dance class together and we had to find our inner goddess. You called her Sassy Maddie remember? Well, you just have to find your inner Sassy Maddie again, bring her to the event and you will be fine.’

‘Find my inner Sassy Maddie again? Then you will have to help me this week to dig her up again cause there is some dust on her. We will put Black Velvet in search of Sassy Maddie but then you have to show your Betty as well.’

We both started to giggle when I heard a Scottish voice from behind me. 

‘You two seem to be having a fun night without us. Didn’t know that Magic Mike was your thing.’ 

As we both turned around we saw both Richard and Taron with a big smile on their face standing in the doorway looking at us. How long had they been standing there? Had they heard our whooping? More importantly did Richard hear that Sassy Maddy comment? 

***** Richard *****

I was relieved when I received the text message from Gareth saying that a dress had been found. I trusted him with my own wardrobe choices so I was confident that he would find something for her too but still I had been anxious about the appointment. From my own experiences I know that the right or wrong piece of clothing can do a lot for your confidence on a red carpet. Knowing that Sofie will be already pretty nervous as it is on Saturday I wished she would find something that gave her just that extra little bit of a boost. The table reads had gone without a glitch as we had managed to go through all 6 scripts. Plus I was going to have dinner with my buddy Taron who I was meeting at the Wolseley. 

‘Hi duckie, it is great to see you again. It has been a long time.’ I said while we hugged. 

‘Dicky, great to see you again. It has been too long but we both have been busy these past few months. Congratulations on Eternals which is still going well I see. I went to see it brilliant movie mate, well done. I know from Kingsman that bulking up isn’t fun either so congratulations.’ 

‘Thanks buddy. I know it still amazes me that people are still going to the cinema to see it after it has been out for a few good months now. I’m in talks for more Eternals movies but also maybe a spin-off for Ikaris. Plus I just finished a movie in Australia that is great too and have Bodyguard lined up next.’ 

Taron and I just caught up on what had happened to our acting career the past few months while having our dinner. 

‘So Taron how are you and your girlfriend? Still going strong?’ 

Taron face slightly fell. ‘We have broken up I’m afraid. We tried to still make it work but work just came in between us. We came at a point where we both wanted to go different ways in our relationship so we decided to just part as friends.’ 

‘Sorry to hear that, why didn’t you just sent me a message or called me? You know you can talk to me about anything? When did it happen?’ 

‘Yeah, I know and appreciate it but I didn’t want to bother you. It was just right before Eternals came out so I didn’t want to add even more on your plate. I knew you would be busy preparing for the crazy train to start. I felt like I just couldn’t add more worries on you.’ 

‘Next time Taron just call me I don’t care what is going on than just call me. You’re one of my best friends so that means you are there for each other no matter what. I couldn’t have done much for you but at least been there as a listening ear.’ 

‘Okay, next time I will call you I promise.’ He smirked ‘Now I have read somewhere on a juicy gossip website that you are off the market.’ 

‘Yep, I have lost my heart to somebody who is wonderful, caring, loving,.. It took us both by surprise I must admit. I didn’t expect to fall for my assistant but somehow it has happened.’ 

‘Dicky, it is clear to me the way you talk about her and how your eyes light up that you care deeply for her. That she was your assistant in the beginning is not important anymore. If you are happy together that is the most important of it all. I would love to meet her already it might be otherwise a bit awkward to do this on a red carpet on Saturday.’ 

‘Well, we can go back to my place to have another drink so you can meet her now. I do have to confess that she is having a girls night in with her best friend so it might be rowdy over there. The were some bottles of wine in the fridge already this morning and they didn’t want to say which movie they were going to see.’ I chuckled. 

‘Oh, I don’t care this could be fun we aren’t sober either anymore, Dicky. I get to meet her and the best friend at the same time probably both buzzed, let’s go.’ He laughed.

We paid our bill, took a taxi home when I opened the front door I could hear the loud noises from the sitting room already. I signalled Taron to be quiet so that we could move in there unseen. Both women were on the couch with a bunch of snacks spread on the coffee table, an empty bottle of white wine plus a half empty. They were watching Magic Mike XXL whooping along with the women on the screen, I looked at Taron who also could hardly contain his laugher anymore. I heard Sofie talking about a Sassy Maddie and Betty which were linked to a song it appears. I had never heard her talk about that so I printed it in my brain so I could ask her about it later when she was fully sober again. The surprised look on both of their faces was priceless when they heard me speak. 

‘You two seem to be having a fun night without us.’ 

‘Sweetie, you are home already. I thought you would be much later.’ Sofie said with a red face while stopping the movie. 

‘I know but Taron wanted to meet you before Saturday and thought now would be perfect time to do so.’ 

‘Hi Taron, I’m Sofie.’ She said while holding out her hand. 

‘Hi Sofie, so nice to meet you. I heard a lot of great things about you.’ Taron said shaking her hand. 

‘Hi Taron, I’m Evi , Sofie’s best friend and partner in crime.’ Evi said while holding out her hand. 

‘Hi Evi, nice to meet you too. Richard had told me Sofie’s best friend was here too.’ Shaking hands with Evi which appeared to be taking a bit longer than usual. 

‘T, Evi will take over Sofie’s job on Saturday during the event together with Elliott so you will see her here there too.’ I added. 

‘Cool, well if you need help Evi then just find me for some guidance.’ Taron winked. 

The rest of the evening we spent drinking so that Evi, Sofie and Taron got a chance to know each other a bit better. When Taron left that night he first hugged Sofie, then Evi (just a bit tighter and longer) and finally me while I escorted him outside. 

‘Dicky, she is a keeper so take care of her, don’t lose her.’ 

‘I know that mate believe me I know that all too well.’ 

***** Sofie *****

The last days prior to the actual premiere flew. I took Evi to meet with Elliott so they got to know each other too as they would work together on the evening itself. Elliott explained Evi what she was supposed to do so they could work as a team. As I had suspected they got along like a house on fire and soon they were talking more banter and gossip then actual work related items. I also finally managed to locate the gift I wanted to give Richard for his birthday later this June as I had been looking for something special. Finally it was the dreading Saturday when waking up I could sense already some butterflies in my stomach. Charley and Gareth would arrive later this afternoon to get us both ready for the actual event. I tried to distract myself as good as possible with some small chores around the house occasionally getting a hug from Richard until I heard the front door bell ring. Richard had gone to open the front door while I waited in the living room together with Evi in came Charley who arrived first with one big tower case with him and another small bag attached to it.

‘Hi Charley’ I said while hugging Charley. ‘Don’t tell me that big one is filled with only products to groom Rich’s famous grey streak.’ I stuck my tongue out to Rich who was standing behind Charley. 

‘Oh no, then I would at least need another case with me this is just the light version of it all.’ Charley smirked while Evi laughed. 

‘Really are you both finished bashing my best feature, it is a really sensitive streak you know.’ Richard said while stroking his hair. 

Hearing his comment we all started to laugh as I felt all of my final tension just fade away. Why was I winding myself up? I wasn’t going to be alone on that red carpet tonight, I had both my best friend and the love of my life with me there who both would support me the whole way through it. 

‘Rich, I don’t want to burst that bubble of yours but unfortunately only half of the case is for you. The other part is to make your gorgeous girlfriend look even more stunning.’ 

‘Stop it Charley’ I said shyly. 

Richard had come up to me and hugged me from behind, he whispered in my ear. 

‘He is right you know. You will look stunning tonight making me the proudest man in the world that I get to stand next to you.’ He kissed me in the neck and let me go. 

‘Charley, is it okay in here in the kitchen. You have the big table and you have plugs all around for you to use.’ Richard showed him into the kitchen. 

‘Excellent this has everything I need. Let me get set up first, Sof then I’m going to curl your hair first as it will need time to cool down before I can style it. Then I can do Rich’s hair and makeup before doing your hair and makeup.’ 

Charley started to unpack his things that he needed for my hair first. The three of us had agreed that a hairstyle like Rita Hayworth would suit best: long wavy locks that would be pinned up on one side with a hairpin. He curled my hair in separate locks, pinned them down so they could cool down and stay in that shape before styling it. Richard had gone up to wash his hair that Charley then meticulously blow dried like it was at the 1917 premiere night a look I loved. It showed off his grey streak but still keeping the small curls at the back of his neck tied together with a nicely trimmed scruff. I hadn’t seen his tuxedo yet but I knew already that he would look very handsome in it. For my makeup we kept the eyes softer so we could focus on a darker lip instead. Charley did highlight the eyes a bit as he wanted to match my blue eyes with Richards blue eyes. Once the makeup had been applied he finished off my hair loosening up the curls so that they fell like waves around my face. On my left side he pinned up a part with some small hairpins. Gareth had arrived in the meantime too, going upstairs to have a look at Richard to add the finishing touches to his outfit. As soon as I was finished I made my way to our dressing room where the dress and shoes were already waiting for me. I had already put on the appropriate underwear that was necessary with this dress so I just had to put on the strappy sandals on before I could step into the dress. Evi had already changed to her outfit so she was going to help me get into the dress and button it up. As soon as I had seen the dress again I knew why I had chosen this one specifically. Evi took it from the hanger and held it open for me to step in which I did carefully to not get stuck in it with the heels of my shoes. She hoisted the dress up which clung to my body like a second skin, we both held our breaths in when she closed the buttons: she didn’t wanted to pop one and I was afraid that it wouldn’t fit any ore. But like magic the dress fitted just perfectly highlighting all the right curves while showing a modest cleavage. Together with the hair and makeup I felt like a million dollars. Gareth had come in to check up on me to see if it all fitted before going back downstairs. 

‘You and Richard will both look so good together. Sof, you look incredible just perfect.’ Evi said while hugging me. 

‘I can only agree with that.’ I heard a low voice behind me. I turned around to see Richard standing in the doorway looking all dashing in his tuxedo that matched with my dress.

‘Excuse me, I’m going to see if Gareth needs a hand downstairs.’ Evi left the room so we were alone, Richard walked over to me. 

‘So you like it then.’ I quizzed. 

‘Mo gràdh, I don’t just like it I love it. You look absolutely stunning. Not only the dress but everything is just perfect, you look like a star. I’m so proud to have this knockout standing next to me. Pretty sure that the paparazzi will want more pictures of you then me.’ He smirked. 

‘No no no, that won’t be possible. They will for sure want pictures of you Mr Handsome. You give James Bond a run for his money looking like that.’ 

‘Well then they can take as many pictures as they want except they will all be with both of us together as I’m not letting you out of my sight tonight. I so want to kiss you but I’m afraid to smudge that lipstick.’ 

‘Charley is still here so he can do a retouch if necessary. Don’t think he will mind doing that for once.’ I winked. We kissed without smudging anything. 

‘You know there is something missing that would make your outfit perfect.’ Richard took out a blue box from his tuxedo jacket. 

‘Honey, you didn’t have to get me any jewellery. I wasn’t planning on wearing anything anyway.’ 

‘I know but when I talked to Gareth about your dress we both felt you needed something special with it. I asked Gareth to find a nice pair of earrings to match but no expensive diamond ones. I know that you don’t like that but he did find some at Swarovski.’ 

I opened the box to find a pair of infinity hoop earrings that sparkled like diamonds but where actually Swarovski crystals. I put them in my ears seeing that they matched seamlessly with the rest being the final touch to the outfit.

‘Sweetie, thank you they are perfect.’ I kissed him light on the lips. 

‘You’re welcome. However we do need to get going as the car will be here in about ten minutes or so.’ Richard said while he padded me on the bum. 

We both made our way downstairs where the others were waiting to see us together before we would leave for the premiere with Evi and Elliot. Both Gareth and Charley were showering us with compliments while Charley did a last minute touch up of us both. Finally the doorbell rang which announced that the car and Elliott were there. 

‘Wow just wow, you look like a couple who have stepped out of an old MGM movie. Just like those glam movie stars of the 50’s. ‘ Elliott exclaimed as soon as he saw us. ‘Tonight all gossip websites will only talk about you two. You are going to break twitter and instagram let me tell you.’ 

‘Aren’t you exaggerating just a little bit my dear Elliott?’ I asked. 

‘Nope not at all just wait and see.’ 

I grabbed my clutch as we made our way out of the house and into the car. The closer we got to Leicester Square the more butterflies were forming in my stomach. I remembered last time we took the same route, which seemed such a long time ago now but wasn’t in reality that long. It had been such a different situation then I was still just an assistant to Richard who was the nervous one then. He must have sensed my nerves as he grabbed my hand as he squeezed it slightly. When we finally arrived at Leicester Square we had to wait until it was our turn to get out of the car. This time Elliott and Evi got out first followed by Richard who held his hand out so I could grab it. I had forgotten how much noise there was at movie premieres so it took me some time to focus and get used to it again. We were gestured to the start of the red carpet when Evi whispered in my ear ‘ Sassy Maddie, you will be great just do what we did this week’. I let her words sick in for a second before I straightened my back, pulled my shoulders back, puffed my chest and found my sassy attitude. Richard took my hand, winked at me making me smile and guided us towards to row of photographers waiting. 

***** Richard *****

Finally it was Saturday giving me some time off but more importantly tonight was going to happen. I actually was looking forward to it not only because it was the new Jurassic Park movie but more because it would be our first official date. I had called mum last night who made me promise I did everything possible to support and get Sofie through today. Mum was all giddy cause she just wanted to see the pictures already as I had told her what Gareth had told me concerning Sofie’s dress and look. I had asked Gareth to find some matching earrings for me, I specifically told him to not get diamond ones as I knew she didn’t like expensive gifts. To her they would constrain her from wearing them knowing how expensive they were as she would be afraid to lose them. He had sent me a picture of some sparkly Swarovski ones that would suit flawless according to him. I sensed that she was already a bit nervous so I paid extra attention to her, give her some extra cuddles. She seemed to calm down as the day was progressing but I knew she would be fine the moment she joked with Charley about the amount of products he had with him for my hair. I went upstairs to wash my hair as soon as Charley had started to curl her hair. When I got back downstairs I saw that every curl was pinned up but knew already that she would look stunning. While she went upstairs to change her handbag to the clutch she was going to take with her I had a small chat with Charley. 

‘So Rich, ready for tonight.’ 

‘Yeah, I’m ready but anxious too at the same time. I have done so many red carpets already but this time it feels different. I walked them with my previous girlfriends but this is not the same feeling.’ 

‘Maybe it is different due to the person who is going to be standing next to you tonight? They say everything is different if you do them with your soulmate. Or maybe because she isn’t from a showbiz world so she is not used to it all, giving you a fresh view from an outsider point of view.’ 

‘Charley, honestly I don’t know the reason why, it could be the first one or the second one or even both. Anyway the one thing I know is that I finally want to show the world that we are a couple but on the other side I also want to protect her from it all. I know how cruel the press can be or those internet trolls.’ 

‘Knowing you Rich you want to protect her at all cost. But she is tougher and stronger then you think, she might even surprise you.’ 

‘Hahaha, you are probably right. She has surprised me already before so why not tonight.’ 

Gareth finished blow drying my hair, applied some light makeup (something normal in this world but still it surprises me) as Gareth had arrived with the earrings. I made my way upstairs to our joined bedroom to get changed into my tuxedo once Sofie’s makeup was nearly finished. I loved how although the eyes were kept light it was still enough to make them shine and stand out. The tuxedo I was wearing tonight was a classic black Armani one tailored to my body with a crisp clean white shirt and a black bow tie. This was a look that suited me flawlessly and where I felt most comfortable in too. I had just finished tucking in the shirt into my pants when Gareth came to check up on me. 

‘I have the earrings with me, where do you want them?’ 

‘You can just drop them on the bed for now. Thanks again for getting them for me.’ 

‘You’re welcome. If you hadn’t asked me then I would have gotten a pair myself as I felt the outfit was missing something.’ 

Gareth was helping me put the bow tie on when I heard that Sofie was coming up the stairs to go in to our dressing room as Evi was going to help her get dressed before Gareth would go and check. I just couldn’t wait to see the finished result cause what I had seen so far was already something special. While I was slipping on my jacket Gareth went to check on the ladies. He gave me a thumbs up from the doorway so I knew it was safe to go see her. Taking the box out of the bag , stuffing it into my pocket I made my way to the other room. When I finally entered our dressing room I could feel my jaw drop slightly as my breath was taken away by the sight in front me. She looked incredibly gorgeous. When Gareth had told me about the dress it didn’t do any justice cause it was far more stunning in reality. Not only the dress was spectacular but the woman who was wearing it too, I couldn’t believe she was going to walk down that the red carpet with me. My girlfriend looked like a bombshell movie star from the golden Hollywood era. The dress was just hugging around her curves like a second skin but still looking so delicate and soft with those embellished straps and the train. Charley had done such a great job with her hair and makeup as they complimented the whole look effortlessly. Evi left us for some alone time giving me the change to hand her the earrings. She was pleasantly surprised when she saw them, they just finished off the already stunning picture. This was just one of the two gifts I had in store for her, the other one would be for tomorrow. The kiss she gave me was filled with all she wanted to say with it. 

Not long after we both gotten downstairs the first pictures were already taken by Gareth and Charley who were going to post them once the event had started. Elliott had arrived with the car like always he was full of banter which helped to get the nerves back down again. As we made our way to Leicester Square I had to think back to the last time we went there. Back then Sofie was sitting next to me then too but was just wearing a plain black outfit still as my PA keeping me calm before the Eternals premiere. It seemed like we both were thinking about the same thing as I took Sofie’s hand to give it a light squeeze. After getting out of the car I held my hand out so she could gracefully exit the car. I could see that Evi whispered something into her ear that made a whole shift to her attitude. Pulling back her shoulders, straightening her back, getting her boobs outs and adopting a slight sassy attitude mentally preparing her for what was to come. I couldn’t help myself so I winked at her which made her smile, took her hand and guided us both towards the lion’s den of the photographers. 

I could feel a slight hesitation forming with Sofie while we had to wait for two other couples to clear area. I just gave a slight squeeze in her hand to let her know she wasn’t alone that I was there for her the whole way. They finally asked us to go stand in front of the photographers thank god we had luckily practised our pose at home. This was in one way to make it go by quicker but also to make it less strange to the both of us as we hadn’t stood like that in front of people before. Still I could feel Sofie’s hand on my shoulder tremble with nerves so I just pulled her a little closer to me with my hand on her hip making sure we were well connected. The flashes were going off everywhere but we both started from left to right like we had practised as they were screaming my name to look at them. The photographers were grouped up in 2 parts so we had to move to the second part and do it all over again. As we were lining up again into our pose I looked at Sofie mouthing ‘everything okay’ due to the amount of noise she just smiled at me nodding a yes. Seeing her cope so well with all of this mayhem, not wanting to run away from it all just made me so proud of her. After the photographers we were separated as I had the press to talk too and see the fans, I went with Elliott while Sofie was moving further on the red carpet with Evi besides who was doing a great job tonight too. I had seen that Taron had arrived too so soon they would have some extra company. We both could finally relax, to start enjoying the premiere now the worst par was done. I had caught a glimpse of Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum on the red carpet so I felt like a kid in a candy store. Plus Bryce was here too so I had to find and say hi to her too. Elliott escorted me while I talked to the press about Eternals and Jurassic Park but avoiding any questions regarding my relationship that part was private for me. Even though we had made it official tonight it didn’t mean they had the right to know everything. In between talks I quickly greeted Taron who had made it pass by the photographers too already. I tried to take as much time as possible with the fans so they could get their autographs, selfies before entering the cinema trying to find Sofie who was already talking with Evi, Taron and Bryce. Whom I hugged before having a quick chat with before she was whisked away she promised to introduce me to Laura, Jeff and Sam at the after party. When it was time for the movie to start we all went into the main screen room to find our seats with me sitting next to Sofie and Taron next to Evi. The movie was good, transferring me back to the days of the original one as soon as I heard that John Williams tune, bringing back the memories I had of seeing the first movie in 1993. Once the movie had finished the cars were waiting outside to take us to the after party at the Natural History Museum which had been transformed to a Jurassic Park nightclub. It was pretty clear from the beginning that I had 4 party animals with me who were on the dance floor already before I could make my way around the room. I met Bryce again who as she had promised took me to meet the heroes of my early Jurassic Park days. I felt so giddy like a schoolboy because I was meeting my childhood idols but they were all so nice to talk too, especially with Jeff Goldblum. From time to time I looked towards the dance floor where Evi, Elliott, Taron and Sofie were having the time of their life. I knew that I couldn’t hold off any much longer to join them so I hoped I had enough liquid courage already to do it. 

***** Sofie *****

We were guided to the start of the official red carpet where the photographers were waiting for us. There were still two couples in front of us so I started to lose my sassy attitude a bit letting doubt slip into my brain. Richard must have felt my sudden change as I sensed a squeeze in my hand as if he wanted to remind me that he was there to help and guide me through it. As we made our way to the first mark I tried my best to remember the pose we had rehearsed at home. This had been a good idea to try it before cause it meant I didn’t have to think of that part anymore. I was standing on Richard’s right side with my hip flush against his slightly turned in, my left arm was draped over his shoulder while he was holding on to my right hip. The moment right before the flashing would start, I felt my heart beating so hard to me it felt that it would pop out of my chest and my left hand on Richard’s shoulder was trembling with nerves. I could feel him reacting to it as he pulled me even closer to him than before. The photographers were shouting his name with flashes going off left and right overwhelming me with a sensation I had never felt before but somehow I didn’t want to run off and hide in a corner because I had Richard beside me to help me guide through it. Once the first mark was done they escorted us to the second one. As we were taking our place for the second time I glanced at him while he mouthed ‘everything okay’ as there was so much noise the only thing I could do was nod at him very quickly before we had to endure another flashing mob in front of us. It was in reality only a couple of seconds but it felt like ages to me. I honestly was doing it for him alone not for my own entertainment because I knew that tonight, tomorrow those pictures would be published and comments would start to flow in. After the two photoshoots Elliott whisked Richard away from me as he needed to talk to some press and stop by the fans too. Luckily for me I had Evi waiting for me so I had someone to talk too. 

‘Don’t worry about a thing. You both looked amazing out there.’ Evi added enthusiastically. 

‘Evi, that was one of the hardest things I had to endure. Those flashes, the yelling, the noises it was all so much.’ 

‘I know that sweetie but you did it, I admire you for pushing through with it. I could see your sassy side but that is only because I know what she looks like. But the hardest part is done now you can enjoy the rest of the evening. Look Taron is here too.’ She pointed at him.

I saw that Taron indeed had made it into the press part too already, he went to hug Richard first before coming straight to us. He hugged me first then Evi. 

‘It is pretty clear who the gossip magazines will talk about tomorrow. I saw you and Richard on the big screen in front of the photographers right after I had left my car. You really looked like a very loved up couple both dresses to perfection.’ 

‘Thanks Taron. I felt like standing in front of a firing squadron out there but we survived it.’ 

‘You weren’t showing that anyway. Better get myself back to the press to do some chitchat. I think I’m seated together with you later on? ‘Taron questioned. 

‘Yeah, you are together with us. I got your ticket with me.’ Evi replied. 

‘Good to know, you keep it so I know it is somewhere safe and secure.’ He winked while walking back to the press that was already waiting for him. 

As I looked at Evi who had gone scarlet red. ‘Now this is turning out to be an interesting evening.’ I remarked. 

‘Don’t be daft you! He was just being friendly nothing more to be thought off.’ Evi said very quickly. 

I decided to let it pass by for now but I was going to make sure they were at least seated next to each other later on. While Richard was finishing off with the fans Evi and I made our way into the cinema where Taron quickly joined us. Bryce also came over to greet him so he introduced us to her before talking a bit about all kind of things. Finally Richard joined us coming from meeting his fans, greeting Bryce and having a little chat with her, I could hear her say she was going to introduce him to the actors of the original movie. Which I instantly knew he would like so much as he loved the first movie. They came to whisk Bryce away as the movie would start shortly which was a sign for us to make it into the screening room. We easily found our seats who were indeed altogether with me sitting next to Richard and Taron next to Evi. I still got goose bumps when I heard that familiar John Williams tune surrounding through the room. I really loved how much they had made this movie lean closer to the first one. It felt like the magic of then was back again. I glanced at Richard from time to time to see his reaction who was clearly enjoying himself. Once the movie was finished we were all guided towards the waiting cars. The after party was at the Natural History Museum which was transformed into a night club for the evening. Somehow dancing between dinosaur skeletons felt so surreal but then again appropriate for the movie that we had seen that evening. Richard wasn’t much of a dancer so he started to go round the room chatting away which he was so good at. I had noticed this already during the Eternals tour that he had the ability to engage anyone in a chat making them feel at ease, having a laugh. I had been dragged onto the dance floor by my 3 companions once the DJ started to play some good tunes. From the dance floor I saw that when Bryce introduced him to Laura, Jeff and Sam that he was nervous like a giddy schoolkid but who could blame him. He hit off with Jeff Goldblum fairly quickly as they were chatting and laughing after just a couple of minutes already. This made me enjoy the evening even more then it was going already. But if Richard thought that he could stay on the side all evening then he was mistaken we had come up with a battle plan to get him on that dance floor. The DJ they had hired knew exactly what kind of music he had to play to keep the floor filled. As soon as he had started with a Barry White the party had started. Elliott knew how to dance a boogie so him and I were twirling around the floor. We just kept on dancing just taking breaks to get something to drink or to go to the bathroom. I wasn’t used to wearing high heels but I wasn’t getting any painful feet or any blisters and if so then I would just kick my shoes off. We were all already slightly buzzed from our drinks but more importantly were having such a great time dancing and laughing. When the DJ started first with Gimme, Gimme from Abba giving us some Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees and ending with Modern Love by David Bowie the whole dance floor was full. It wasn’t only oldies music he was playing just about everything passed by making sure that everyone could find something to dance too. I had noticed that Taron and Evi were dancing a lot together, laughing, talking, simply having a good time so there could be something blooming there who knew. We all found that Richard had enough time on the side line that it was time he joined our crazy group. Taron went to the DJ to ask for two specific songs which he knew were also very irresistible to Richard while Elliott had a look to see where he was, he walked over to him and dragged him onto the dance floor. He was nearly with us when I could hear the first notes of the song ‘Faith’ by George Michael. The song wasn’t even half gone when he had loosened his bow tie shaking around the dance floor. It took some persuasion to get him starting to dance but once he had started, he went for it just having a good time. Knowing which song was going to come next I was enjoying the display I was getting. As I could hear ‘Addicted to Love’ by Robert Palmer starting I couldn’t help to contain myself and started to giggle. Richard grabbed me on the dance floor nestling his face in the nape of my neck. 

‘What??? Are you laughing with my dancing now?’ he slightly slurred. 

‘Who me? Baby I wouldn’t dare to do that. I was just thinking about the times I have heard you sing that song in the shower that’s all?’ 

‘So you like to hear me sing in the shower then? But you haven’t seen my shower moves yet, mo leannan.’ he chuckled. 

He let go of me just in time to sing the ‘oh yeah’ which made me laugh even more. He could be such a goofball from time to time but that is what I liked so much about him. I hadn’t told him that his singing voice had enchanted me since the very beginning when I heard it all the way into my room. Not much longer the DJ announced that it was time to slow things down a bit, wondering what he was going to play for a slow. He started with ‘Slave to Love’ by Bryan Ferry which surprised me. I walked over to Richard nestling myself into his arms as we danced in our own little world. This was our first real dance together as a couple so it was a bit magical. I could feel that my body matched exactly to his body making us flush against each other. I snaked my arms around his neck so my hands could touch the small curls there, one of his hands was resting on the nape of my back near my bum while the other one was stroking softly my side. I had snuggled my face on his shoulder as I could sense him kissing my neck from time to time. 

‘Sof?’ he said softly. I lifted my head so that I could look him in the eyes. ‘Yes honey.’ 

‘It just feels so good to have you here in my arms holding you so near. I never had imagined this would happen to me again this feeling but here it is. This is our song from now on nobody can take it away from us. I love you.’ 

His words surprised me a bit as I hadn’t expected it to happen here tonight. 

‘Richard, I love you too.’ I whispered to him while I closed the gap and kissed him. 

When we unlocked from our kiss the next slow song had started ‘Bed of Roses’ by Bon Jovi. As I nestled myself back into his arms I saw that Taron and Evi were dancing pretty close too, my plan seemed to have worked cause they weren’t going home alone tonight that was sure. We kept on dancing the whole night until we all started to get really tired, each taking separate taxis back to our own places just our taxi was being filled by two people instead of three. Making our way up the stairs we were really tired but still on a high of how the night had been no because of the red carpet but by those couple of words that had been said on that dance floor. Since I couldn’t get out of my dress without any help Richard undid my buttons. It started all very slow but it ended with clothes getting nearly ripped off each other resulting in a fast fuck fuelled by pure love and lust for each other. Afterwards I barely had energy left but I made it into the bathroom to take my make up off, undo my hair, take a pee before returning to bed where my handsome boyfriend was snoring already. I nestled myself into his arms before falling asleep. 

***** Richard *****

I had known all evening that they at point would drag me onto the dance floor but not when or how. When I saw Elliott coming towards me I knew it was time. He dragged me onto the dance floor towards their little group when I heard the song starting. They really had chosen the good song to get me started but I suspected this was Taron’s doing. It was his favourite song so he just went all for it by pulling everyone with him that was close by. By only half of the song I was starting to get warm so I undid my bow tie and opened my top buttons, my jacket I had taken off already earlier. The song that followed really did it for me, made me wonder whose idea it was. Seeing Sofie giggle I immediately had my suspect ready thinking it was my dancing that made her laugh but she was only thinking about all the times she had heard me sing it under the shower. I had a couple of songs I loved to hear and sing when I was taking a shower but she had never mentioned that she had heard them. When the DJ announced he was going to slow down she was the only one I wanted to dance with. Your first dance as a couple will always be a special one from now on so I was so happy that it was this one. She had truly turned me into a slave to love but her love alone. Somehow I had this feeling that I needed to express this feeling towards her but surprised myself when I uttered the ‘I love you’. For a second she was silent making me worry she wasn’t feeling the same but she soon said the same words back to me which filled my heart with even more love. The rest of the night we just kept on dancing until we all were just tired. In the taxi ride back home we were both quiet just too tired to even talk anymore. Making our way upstairs I was prepared to just get ready for bed when Sofie asked me to help her with the buttons of her dress. Being so close to her ignited a fire inside me that didn’t wanted the night to end like this. Already knowing all of her weak spots it didn’t take long before we both had lost all of our clothes before getting lost in fuck. I was just so tired that I didn’t even feel that Sofie went to the bathroom but just dosed off, next time I woke up it was nearly lunch time already. Me waking up must have stirred her cause she also woke up next to me. 

‘Good morning my love, did I wake you up? I’m sorry about that.’ 

‘Honey, don’t worry I was already waking up too.’ she said while stretching out. ‘What time is it anyway?’ 

‘It is nearly lunch time.’ 

‘No wonder I feel hungry then, last time I ate something was yesterday afternoon. Time to make us something to eat then. Don’t know if Evi has returned home already.’ 

We both got up, made our way into the bathroom and got dressed. While Sofie checked her phone for news from Evi, I had a look into the fridge to see if we had something to prepare that helped cure our small hangover so decided on some pasta with sauce. That was easy, quick to prepare and helps with a hangover plus I had something to give to Sofie anyway as a thank you for last night which would be ideal for after lunch. 

‘Evi will be back later this afternoon she texted me, apparently Taron is making lunch for them both.’ She said when she came into the kitchen. 

‘Nice one T! They seem to have hit it off like a house on fire those two.’ 

‘You betcha they have, I had this feeling that it would be even before they had met. Do you need any help sweetie?’ 

‘No if you can just set the table then I will cook this. It won’t take that long anymore.’ 

After we had finished our lunch we made our way into the living area to get comfortable on the couch when I handed her the wrapped gift. 

‘Rich, what is this?’ she exclaimed. 

‘I just wanted to give a small thank you for last night. I know it wasn’t easy for you but you pushed through just for me. I wanted to show my gratitude with something special that wasn’t jewellery.’ 

***** Sofie *****

I could feel Richard stir next to me so he must have woken up too. As I opened my eyes I could see a pair of ocean blues staring back to me. He was worried that he had woken me up but I was already awake for some time now, I just didn’t wanted to wake him as he was still sleeping so peacefully. I had no clue what time it was but my stomach felt so empty so it must been late morning already. Getting out of bed I could feel a slight headache popping up as a gentle reminder that we had a hangover. After I had gotten downstairs I looked for my phone to check if I had any messages from Evi. 

<<Sof, will be home this afternoon. T has offered to make lunch so I’m going to eat there.<<

<<So you worked up an appetite then?<<

<<Yeah, quite a big one ;-) but don’t tell me you went straight to bed when you got home.<<

<<no not straight to bed no but a bed was used. Have fun and cu later<<

<<Laters<<

Making my way into the kitchen I saw that Richard had already started with the cooking which he loves to do, I just set the table while he was finishing up. After lunch we got on the couch to relax, digest lunch while trying to get the hangover to go when Richard handed me a wrapped rectangular box. He said it was a gift to me to show his gratitude for what I did for him. As I unwrapped it, opened the box I saw it what he had bought for me: a framed copy of the sheet music of Take My Breath Away which was the song that played when we first kissed. To some it might seem like a simple gift but to me it meant a lot more than any diamonds he would give, it meant that he had felt something special that moment too. I bended towards him put my hands on each side of his face, softly saying ‘thank you’ before kissing him with every single fibre in my body. The rest of the afternoon we cuddled up on the couch until Evi came home, Richard excused himself to give us some time alone together as she would leave the next morning again. We talked about what had happened the previous evening, she showed me some of the comments that had been given about us making sure that I only saw the good ones. Richard and I had received already numerous messages ourselves from family and friends congratulating us and telling how good we look as a couple. The morning came quickly when I went to the Eurostar terminal to drop off my best friend again afterwards getting back to work. 

That monday Richard started with Bodyguard season 2 so my days were spread by working from home, on set and sometimes at the office together with Elliott. He had warned me already that this was going to be an intense couple of months which started straight from the beginning. We were both working 6 days in the week for 12 to 15 hours each day which was a nice change after the slower previous weeks. Soon it was 18th June which meant it was Richard’s birthday. I woke up early seeing that he was still asleep on his back next to me, the sheet was barely just covering the lower part of his body. I quietly moved over softly starting to kiss his lips making my way to his neck where I changed to open mouth kisses. Slowly I started to descend to his chest making sure I treated each nipple equally. He hadn’t said anything but I could feel that he was awake, loving it by the low Scottish burr I heard from above together with the more rapid shallow breathing. Stimulated by the satisfying noises I worked further down passed the happy trail until I reached his already rock hard shaft. Starting at the base I kissed my way up inch by inch until I reached the head that was leaking with some precum already which I licked off resulting in a deep moan resonating through his body into mine. Feeling confident I took in his penis as far it was possible without gagging as he was bigger than anyone else I had been before. I couldn’t fit him all in so I placed my hand on the root part. Making sure that his shaft was wet enough I started to move my head up and down while at the same time stimulating the other part by slight rubs of my hand. I could feel his hands finding their place in my hair trying to guide me, setting a pace that was comfortable for us both. Whirling my tongue around his shaft with each trust of his hips touching every vein running over it. Feeling that he was getting closer to his orgasm I let go my hand to stimulate his balls and the sensitive part just behind them. Feeling his balls pulling together I was prepared for his release which was accompanied by a primal noise Richard made. Swallowing down all that he gave me until everything was spent, I released his shaft, moving back up to face him. 

‘Happy birthday my love.’ I said. 

‘I could get used to these kind of mornings very quickly.’ Richard said still sounding slightly hoarse. 

I laughed ‘That I can imagine all too well that you would like this kind of mornings.’ 

‘But the roles can be reversed too.’ he said while flipping me on my back. 

‘Yeah but not this morning baby. We just have enough time to get ready before leaving, breakfast will have to be on set I’m afraid.‘ 

He pouted his mouth. ‘Oh can’t we call in sick or something. Just want to spend today in bed with you.’ He said while showering me with kisses.

‘Sorry we can’t do that but according to the schedule it will an early finish today so we can have a dinner at home tonight. Plus I still have to give you your gift too.’ 

He sighed ‘okay then let’s get ready the sooner we can start the sooner it is finished too.’ 

Getting up we got dressed and ready just in time for the car to arrive to take us to set. I had arranged that Elliott would call me so I could leave earlier to get everything ready for tonight. He really didn’t have a clue what was in store for him which was so exciting, the only one who knew about the plan was Evi as she had helped me with it. 

***** Richard *****

Once the Jurassic Park premiere had passed I knew it was time to start filming Bodyguard again. The first days it took me some time to find David Budd again as I had put him away in a far place. Last time he had asked so much from me both physically and mentally I wasn’t looking forward in playing him again. The story was less traumatic then the first season but still quite intense. Plus getting used again to those long days of shooting 6 days of the week were a pain. Luckily I had Sofie with me this time in case I needed to ventilate or just talk when I felt in need of it. The night before my birthday I hadn’t really expected something special as we both had been working very hard with little time off. Waking up that morning I immediately felt that something special was happening, it wasn’t the first blow job she gave me but she was so much more determent in her actions this time. Feeling her mouth around my cock felt so great, I tried to tell her how this was making me feel special but I seemed to only be able to make a primal noise. But it wasn‘t quite the same feeling as being buried deep inside her because I couldn’t see her face, see how it made her feel. The rhythmic bobbing together with the small pumps of her hand soon brought me to an orgasm that stretched all the way into my toes. I just didn’t want to get up, I really wanted to spend the rest of the day with her in bed. She finally persuaded me to start the day with talks of a dinner and a gift plus it was going to be a shorter day of shooting. I was so looking forward to the dinner and the gift if this was close to what I got early this morning already. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question is what will be his gift? Maybe Sassy Maddie finally shows herself to him. You will have to wait and see. ;-)


	9. Don’t Leave me this Way  – Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter in the love story. We took off where we had stopped in the previous chapter right before Richard's birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains heavy smut but also some tears.
> 
> For the full immersive experience start 'Nasty Naughty Boy' by Christina Aguilera when the little show starts

** *** Sofie *** **

Luckily it was a calm day on set that day and not one of those crazy ones.  So when Elliott called me early afternoon asking me to come to the main  office I could easily get away without much suspicion from Richards side. He was already used to me going back and forth between the set, the house and the office now depending on where I was needed. I made a stop at the shops so I could get everything I needed to prepare a birthday surprise dinner. I had called Pat earlier during the week to get a list of Richards favorite dishes so I could make a nice little menu for tonight. Arriving at home I dropped everything off in the kitchen, took my coat off, washed my hands and started with the preparations. The starter was something easily made so I just plated it and put in the fridge so it was nice and fresh for later. The main course was an oven dish that required some vegetables getting cut, chicken prepared and seasoned all together with some potatoes put in one big casserole ready to go in the oven the moment he got home. Dessert was homemade chocolate mousse which I had made already before but with mixed results. I was hoping that this one would be a success, crossing my fingers during preparations. I managed to melt my chocolate to the right consistency so that was a good start. The faiths were in my favor because it looked and tasted like chocolate mousse in the end. Being happy for myself I did a small victory dance in the kitchen. I put the mousse in 4 small glass bowls and they went in the fridge too so they could stiffen up even more. Now that food was  ready I could start with the table: I picked out some nice plates, put the wine glasses out, arranged the cutlery and folded the napkins in the only form I could make. Not to make it too cheesy I just added some nice flowers on the table. I took out the champagne glasses, placed them on the coffee table ready to be used for the aperitive. Taking a look around the living and kitchen area I noticed that both food and table were ready so it was time to prepare myself. More importantly getting everything out and ready for part 2 of the birthday gift. Making my way upstairs I went to the dressing so I could choose the correct outfit for it as it was crucial. I had to make sure it was something I could work with, felt myself comfortable but yet sexy in. Finally finding everything I needed I laid it ready on the bed, I decided to pamper myself a bit with a nice, warm relaxing bad, a face mask, shaving where it was necessary. While I was applying my make up I got a text from Richard. 

<< Babe, we just finished  shooting.< <

<<Good to hear sweetie. I have to admit I’m not in the office but just  home , sorry.  😊 <<

<<Had a feeling that something was going on. Going to shower and then I’m coming home to you.<<

<<Okay sweetie. Your birthday dinner is waiting for you when you get here xxx.<<

<<Looking forward to it already. Please tell me you are my  dessert?< <

<<Who knows  😉 maybe if you are a good boy you will get a dessert but not like the one of this  morning.< <

<< Me? I’m always a good boy. Right going to shower now, it is necessary  😉 .  Laters baby<<

I chuckled at his last message he was such a tease but boy will he be in for a surprise later. He wasn’t going to expect this to happen. I was surprised that I was going to do this as I had only done it in class before so this was way out of my comfort zone honestly. Making my way downstairs I checked on everything in the fridge and turned the oven on so my dish could softly start to get prepared.

** *** Richard *** **

Today had been a fun day on set I have to admit which was a nice change from all the intensity of other days. The crew knew it was my birthday so during lunch they brought out a birthday cake including candles which they expected me to blow out. I could see that Sofie was laughing from the corner off my eye when I had to stop half way to catch my breath. How much this birthday was different to last year's one. We were in full pandemic then being in lockdown in LA I just could celebrate it with a couple of friends. It was a fun day but somehow today felt so much different to me. A little bit after lunch Sofie got a phone call from Elliott to come into the office to discuss some things which wasn’t unusual to happen but I had this feeling something was going on. Lately she had been spreading herself thin in switching between set, office and home. I know she is capable of doing a lot but I wished she took some time off too from time to time besides working. We wrapped our shoot for the day in the early evening so decided to shower there instead of waiting until I got home. I quickly sent a text to Sofie to let her know we were done. I wasn’t that surprised to get a message back saying that my birthday dinner was going to wait for me home.  So the phone call had just been a decoy as I suspected so she could go home to prepare it. I couldn’t help myself by replying with a cheeky text back asking is she was my dessert? I wasn’t expecting to get an equally teasing text back from her implying it might just be the case. I could already feel myself getting  slightly turned on by the prospect of what might was going to come. A nice cold shower was very necessary so I could cool down a bit before heading home. As soon as I opened up the front door my nose was attacked by all of these delicious smells coming from the kitchen. I made my way into the living room where Sofie was waiting for me already with 2 glasses of champagne and some appetizers. 

‘Happy birthday sweetie.’ she said while kissing me and handing me a glass.

‘ Thanks mo ghraidh , you did this all for me?  Sláinte ’ We clinked our glasses.

‘ Sláinte . Yes, I did. It is your birthday so you deserve a special dinner. Lately you have been working very hard plus we can use it to spend some time together too.’

‘I know we have both been so busy and haven’t seen each other a lot. I’m glad we have at least tonight together.’ I kissed her lightly.

‘Well, it is time for your gift now or at least your first gift anyway.’ she said while walking back into the kitchen to return with a wrapped box.

‘ Oh my first gift now you say. Wondering what that second gift might be, is it something to do with dessert?’ I winked.

‘Wouldn’t you like to know that now would you.’ she smirked while taking a sip.

I took the wrapped box from her trying to figure out what it could be. I undid the wrapping to open the box to find another wrapped gift and a black/white framed picture of Frank Sinatra. I knew immediately the place where I could hang that one up. I had talked about that a couple of weeks ago that I was looking for something to hang at a certain place and this would fit just perfectly. She had listened, remembered and then went on to buy the perfect frame.  So if this was the gift what was in the wrapped one then? I delicately opened it before my jaw dropped to the sight in front of me. She had bought me a Live at the Sands vinyl not only was that my favorite album but it was also signed by none other than Frank Sinatra himself. I couldn’t believe my eyes that Sofie had looked for something this  special and got it for my birthday. I laid both gifts on the coffee table and wrapped my arms around her.

‘ Thanks my love, they are both amazing gifts. You shouldn’t have gotten  them; it is too much.’

She unwrapped herself from my arms and took my face in her hands.

‘Richard, you so much deserve them both otherwise I wouldn’t have bought them. The past few months have been the best in a few years and wanted to say thank you.’

She pulled me closer to her until our lips touched. The kiss started very softly but gradually deepened as she laid her arms around my neck as I pulled her closer towards me. I could hear a soft moan coming from her as my tongue went onto discover hers. Feeling both getting aroused I laid her on her back on the couch as my hands started to move towards the hem of her shirt. As I started to push it  up, she let go of our kiss and pushed my hands back down.

Slightly panting she said. ‘Hold it  romeo not so fast now. We are going to have that dinner first, I haven’t been preparing it all afternoon to let it just go to waste now.’

I pouted ‘Can’t we just skip straight away to my special dessert?’ Trying my best at using my puppy eyes.

She groaned ‘Stop looking at me that way Richard Madden.’ She scolded me. ‘No  no no , we are going to eat first while I can still say no to you.’

She shuffled herself from underneath me and walked into the kitchen towards the fridge to take out the first course.

‘Dinner is served birthday boy, get your butt over here’. She laughed.

‘ Oh but you love to watch that butt so much’ I teased back while sitting down at the dinner table.

The rest of diner was just plain banter and laughs. Sofie really had outdone herself and made all of my favorite dishes, she must have called mum  cause she couldn’t have known these were the ones. We shared a nice bottle of wine too, together with the champagne from earlier meant we were a little bit buzzed.

‘So ready for your dessert?’

‘Only if it involves you and me getting naked so I can thank you properly for tonight.’

‘Calm down cowboy still plenty of time for that. First a proper dessert fitted for a birthday boy.’

She went to the fridge, took something out of it, making a quick stop at the kitchen counter before returning towards me. She was carrying 2 glass bowls filled with chocolate mousse with a burning candle stuck in one of them. She sang ‘happy birthday’ which was so adorable and made me giggle.

‘Now blow out your candle and make a wish.’

I just obliged in the request while making my wish. Taking my  spoon I delved into the velvety substance to try it as I couldn’t help but slightly moan when I tasted the mousse. It was just the right dose of chocolate melting on my tongue. I didn’t have to say anything because she understood from my reaction that it was delicious. We both finished our desserts, Sofie took the bowls into the kitchen, putting them in the dishwasher as I made my way on the couch. She came to join me, both of us sitting and cuddling on the couch in silence enjoying the moment.

‘Honey, tonight was wonderful. The gifts were already amazing but then this diner was just perfect. I couldn’t have wished for a better birthday. But you shouldn’t have done this all for me we could have easily ordered something too.’

‘Rich, I know we could have done that but I wanted to do something special for you. It is your first birthday we celebrate together so it could be a bit more. But who says it is finished now?’ she winked.

‘ Oh it isn’t finished you say? What can come next? Coffee?’ I teased.

‘Really that inappropriate mind of yours can only think of coffee right now?  Sure not a problem I will go get you some coffee.’

She tried to get up but I pulled her back onto the couch while tickling her until she said stop, both trying to find our breaths back.

‘If you would like to excuse me  now, I’m going to prepare for your birthday gift part 2. You can only come upstairs when I call you.’ She said giving me a light kiss on the lips as she went upstairs.

What was coming  next I wondered? I have had a great diner and gifts what could top that? I checked my messages that I had received until I heard the signal that it was safe to come upstairs. Entering our  bedroom I knew that I was going to be screwed and that this would top everything. There was a chair near the end of the bed, the lights on the nightstands had been dimmed by scarfs and I could hear soft music playing. I couldn’t see Sofie but sensed she was nearby. 

‘Don’t turn around, hold your hands up.’ I heard her voice demanding from behind me.

I did what I was told and held my hands up. I could see that one of my ties was being used to bind them together.

‘Now sit down on the chair, don’t try to undo the tie just keep your hands tied lying on your lap.’

I sat down on the chair with my hands still tied up in my lap. I was nervous, excited at the same time as this was something I wasn’t expecting to happen. I sensed her approaching towards me whispering in my ear.

‘Be a good boy now, stay seated, relax and enjoy the show. Happy birthday  Mr Madden from Sassy Maddie.’

I could hear the music being switched to another type of song, I didn’t recognize it but I didn’t care.

_“_ _Come here big boy_   
_Ahh,_ _mmmhmm_ _, yeah”_

Were the first lines of the songs I heard in the voice of Christina Aguilera followed by some sexy saxophones. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Sofie passing by, caressing my thigh with her leg, stopping in front of me with her back towards me. I took a good moment to look her up from the bottom to the top just making me gulp: she was wearing a pair of black heels, black stay-ups decorated with some delicate flowers at the end, black lacey shorts playing peekaboo from underneath a white shirt. She turned around to let me look at her from the frontside. The shirt and tie she was wearing I recognized was the set I had worn to the London premiere of Eternals. I could only see a little part of what she was wearing under the shirt as it was closed by a couple of buttons. She had put her hair up and popped on red lipstick, holding a fan in her hands.

_“You've been a bad bad boy_   
_I'm_ _gonna_ _take my time, so enjoy_   
_There's no need to feel no shame_   
_Relax and sip upon my champagne_   
_'Cause_ _I_ _wanna_ _give you a little taste_   
_Of the sugar below my waist, you nasty boy_

I could hear Christina Aguilera sing in the background but I couldn’t care less what song was playing as I was mesmerized by the sight in front of me. The woman standing in front of me had been transformed from being my girlfriend into a sassy, seducing temptress luring me in with her eyes. She started off with the fan: opening, closing, slightly caressing it over her arm, over her chest to the other arm, back again to her breasts down her stomach towards her leg all the while looking me straight into the eyes with this fiery, passionate look. She discarded the fan, stepping towards me, taking her high heels off, she placed her foot on my thigh making sure to avoid my semi hard-on. I had already shifted a bit to be more comfortable on the chair. I couldn’t help myself any longer as I wanted to touch, kiss her so I tried lifting my hands up which resulted in a stern look, a gentle slap on my hands and a firm no from her. She travelled her fingers up and down her leg until she reached the hem of the stay-up playfully pushing them down until they were near her foot before sensually taking them off. Taking her  time she did one side first to then moved on to the other leg placing her foot on my other thigh, giving me a clear view of those lacy shorts, she was wearing knowing how much I liked them. I could feel my trousers getting even tighter now as my dick was no fully erect and it wasn’t even finished yet. She sashayed back away from me showing off her bum loosening up her hair and turning back facing me. Her hair was now in waves around her face sporting a red slightly pouted mouth. It took all of my willpower to stay seated and not jump up to conquer that mouth of hers. Swaying with her hips her hands went towards the tie she was wearing, suggestively loosen it up before taking it off. By then my brain had travelled down to my groin as I barely could even remember my own name, my mouth slightly open to suck in as much oxygen as possible near the verge of starting to drool. My hard-on was pretty visibly plus uncomfortable in this seated position now but still she wouldn’t release me from my prison. The last part must be the shirt of mine that she was still wearing not thinking straight anymore I couldn’t phantom how this would go. She swooped her hands over her boobs showing me exactly what was still waiting to the 3 buttons that were still closed. She slowly opened one button, another until there was only one left when she turned around with her back to me. She teasingly opened one part of the shirt to show me and then the other part before letting it drop at her feet. She finally turned around showing me the full lingerie get up she had put on, consisting of a gorgeous lace black bra that matched the shorts. Deciding it had been enough punishment for me she sashayed to me to undo the tie around my hands. It only took me a second to stand up so I could pull her to me and devour her. Knowing the issues she has with looking at herself, this little number showed how much she conquered her own insecurities to perform in front of me, I just wanted to show her how much it had meant to me. 

** *** Sofie *** **

Dinner had gone perfectly; I hadn’t let anything get burned plus the chocolate mousse was a fire cracker. There had been sparks flying around all evening making everything heightened and full of tease, to me it felt like it was all leading up to the final moment. I was so glad we had some wine during dinner because it meant my nerves were nearly all gone by the  time I made my way to our bedroom. When Evi had been here we had practiced a routine to one of the Christina Aguilera songs that would become a surprise for his birthday. The dance itself wasn’t the issue as I could do it now even with my eyes closed, just the big difference would be that the chair wasn’t empty this time anymore. He would be sitting there looking at me while I didn’t have a clue on what went on in his mind. He could love it or hate it, giving in to my own doubts I just immediately expected the worst. I took the outfit I had searched together into in the bathroom, starting my change into my burlesque character while mentally pumping up myself. By the time I got to putting up my hair I felt like the Sassy Maddie I had been during classes just adding the finish touch by applying some fiery red lipstick. I took the extra tie with me while walking to the dressing, calling Richard so he could come up. I could hear him stumbling up the stairs, moving into the bedroom. Seeing he had his back turned to me, I moved towards him giving him the first set of instructions. He obediently followed them so I could tie his hands together as otherwise he wouldn’t stop trying to grab me. demanding him to sit down and seeing him doing this without a hitch gave me a boost of confidence that it might be okay after all. This gave me the final push to give him the final orders before turning up the music and start the show. I had thought that it would feel like forever but those 4 minutes went by in a flash seeing the heat radiating from my boyfriend minute by minute that the act went on. Before I realized it, I was only sporting my lingerie anymore looking at my man who had this passionate look in his now dark blue, lust filled eyes while sporting a massive hard-on. My self-confidence got an extra kick as I knew that I was the cause for it and nothing else. Untying his hands, it was a mere seconds before I was flat flush against his rock-hard body while his mouth was on mine, our tongues eager to conquer each other. 

His hands travelled down until they were clutching my ass through the lacy shorts slightly pinching my cheeks in the process. Gripping the collar of his t-shirt with my hands I exposed a tantalizing wedge of the chest hair turning me on even more as I could myself getting wet. He moved us both towards the end of the bed not at all letting go of each other still locked in a searing kiss. Having had enough of kneading my ass he trusts his hand into my bra freeing one of my breasts, unlocking from our kiss he took the sensitive rosebud in his mouth switching between sucking, licking and kissing it. I could already feel my core tensing up in preparation of a first orgasm, feeling my tension he freed the other breast, playing with that one while his free hand was reaching inside my shorts massaging the sensitive spot between my legs until I reached my first peak. Getting weaker in the knees he held me up while I clung onto his muscularly arms so I didn’t fall straight on the bed. With one hand he unhooked my bra that flew through the room to land somewhere, having found my legs again my hands travelled to the hem of his t-shirt, pulled it up as it followed the same direction as my bra. Given the fact that he still was wearing more clothes than me I went to his trousers, undid his belt, button and zipper so I could push it down his hips as he kicked it off. The only material covering his erection was his boxershorts which seemed to wanting to in cave in any second now. As I looked into his blazing eyes, I could see little blue flames of desire in his irises. There was so much passion, love, lust, desire between us the room seemed electrified. Holding me in his arm he laid me down on the bed without taking his eyes of me while using his other arm to keep his weight off of me. We both took a moment to gaze each other in the eyes before starting another make out session. Both still wearing our underwear he laid in between my legs with his shaft right on my core still kissing, sometimes one moved to the neck area to place soft little kisses there just letting the moment grow. His fingers travelled towards my shorts pushing them off, down my knees to my ankles where I kicked them off. Those damn fingers played their way up my legs until they found the right spot slowly entering me with one finger first to later add another one with it. Settling in the right pace he moved them slowly in and out until I could sense myself tensing up again before another eye watering release. This being already twice in a short time he seemed to be determined to give me one hell of a night. Feeling the need of him inside of me I went to his boxershorts, pushing them down until he could kick them off. Still wedged in between my thighs, he grounded his shaft into my groin area. I let out a throaty moan in anticipation in what was still to come. Wrapping my hand around his length slightly pumping it, releasing a bit of precum which I rubbed all over his cock making sure he was nicely lubricated before entering me. Rubbing my finger along the veins just underneath his skin releasing a deep low moaning growl from him. Both feeling we couldn’t contain it much longer he lined up right in front my core, pushing in deep inch by inch until he filled me up completely. Settling on a rhythm that was manageable for us both each trust was becoming more powerful, more intense, plunging in as far as possible each time I felt like he was reaching the edge of my womb. He raised up my right leg to change the angle slightly feeling like he went even deeper like that. The room was only filled with moans, flesh upon flesh and some Scottish swearing. I could see sweat forming on Richards brow as he was holding on but seeing that his trusts were getting sloppier, he was getting closer to his orgasm. I could feel my own building up too but just not yet reaching it, he started massaging my clit between his fingers. Feeling his magic touch on my already very sensitive spot I didn’t take long to reach my own orgasm seeing stars in the process. Richard trusted two more times inside of me before finding his own release. Both still panting he couldn’t keep himself up anymore and collapsed on top of me trying to catch his breath. After a short time he gently pulled himself out of me, he grabbed me so we were both on our sides facing each other.

‘I cannot thank you enough for everything you did today and tonight. I know that must have asked a lot of courage coming from you but believe me when I say I really enjoyed it a lot. So this was the famous Sassy Maddie then, the one I heard you talk about that night when T and I came home early?’

‘Yes, that was her in all of her glory but don’t expect her to show up every time. She will only be there on very special occasions.’

‘I’m already happy with just the special occasions I promise you. I'm not expecting to get a full show every time either. But it was really enjoyable but I guess my reaction had already said that for me.’

‘Giving the multiple orgasms I say actions speak louder than words. I have to admit I was a bit scared to do it but am glad I did it.’

‘Honestly this has been the best birthday ever and hope we have many more to come. I love you.’

‘I love you too.’

Reaching out to him I kissed him while letting my hands roam from his face, over that delicious patch of chest hair, following the happy trail into the soft curls of his pubes to finally end at the base of his cock which was already semi hard again. That man had some stamina alright. Grabbing it gently, giving it a light rub it soon sprung back into full action ready for the next round. This move earned me a satisfying moan from the male subject it was attached too, stimulating me to move on with my conquest. Gripping his broad shoulders, I pushed him on his back as I hoovered over him. Bobbing between us was his head al rosy and glistening with precum ready for my next move. Opening up my legs moving them so I was straddling him, I lowered myself on his already waiting shaft. Gently moving  together we discovered a steady pace as I glided up and down his penis while he was massaging my  breats . I always loved to ride him as I could see his face that way as he tried to keep his eyes open but failed or biting his lip in anticipation. Hearing a low  growl I knew he was enjoying this too. His fluffy lips opened up slightly so I bent over to grasp them into a scorching kiss which eventually led to me pulling him up with me so we were both in a seated position this way switching our rhythm and angle. The pure lust from earlier had made room for love making being it gentler and slow making sure we both equally enjoyed ourselves. As my core was already super sensitive plus overstimulated, I didn’t need extra clitoral stimulation from him gulping back a whimper as everything tightened making my orgasm detonate like a supernova taking him with me just milking every last drop out of him. Having caught my lower lip in between his lips he slowly released it before falling on the bed. Getting myself of him I just laid down on top of him slowly getting back to earth as Richard was slowly caressing my back. Feeling all sticky and sweating we took a shower where he wanted to show his gratitude just one more time by giving me another crashing release before finally getting ready to properly go to bed. Luckily it was a late start the next day or we would hardly have any sleep that night. Both totally spent of energy we both fell asleep quickly for some well-earned hours of sleep hoping I could at least walk normally tomorrow.

** *** Richard *** **

Waking up the next day it took me some time to realize that the previous night had really happened and not just a figment of my imagination. Seeing the evidence lying around in our bedroom made it clear it was real and not just my fantasy. Not only had I received some amazing gifts, a sensual show from my girlfriend but we had a night filled with incredible sex too. She had given me in total 4 gifts so it was my turn to return the same amount to her plus an extra bonus. As much as I had enjoyed the blowjob that morning, I loved it even more to see her underneath me trying to hold off her climax as long as she can or the small faces she makes when she is enjoying it. But equally I enjoyed it when she is riding me, seeing her breasts bounce with each trust. I had to stop thinking about last night or I would have to wake her up and start all over again but she deserved to sleep in as she had been sleeping so badly the last weeks. I decided to get up, get ready already and prepare some breakfast for the two of us. I couldn’t help but reminisce in the shower about what had occurred in there a mere couple of hours ago, that my shower took a bit longer than usual. In the kitchen I turned the dishwasher on, cleared the last bits of last night away. Opening the  fridge I saw that there was still some chocolate mousse in there so that would be delicious to have tonight after a long day on set. The next couple of weeks would be one the hardest parts of shooting with a lot of long days, difficult scenes, a lot of emotions meaning it would be difficult to leave the character on set but I was going to try. I know I can be a shit boyfriend during filming but I wouldn’t want this to interfere with this relationship. Hearing the shower running upstairs I knew Sofie was awake, getting ready so I prepared the final things for breakfast which we both inhaled after the marathon of last night. Getting ready we made our way to set to start shooting again. 

** *** Sofie *** **

Waking up the next morning I could feel that all of my muscles were stiff and protesting from all the movement of the previous night. Since the spot next to me was cold it was clear that Richard was already downstairs. Hauling my ass out of bed I walked into the shower being reminded at what happened there the night before. I took my time making sure the warm water reached all of my aching muscles while thinking ahead already what was in store for us over the next weeks and months as we had barely started shooting Bodyguard. I had read the scripts of the first 4 episodes so I knew a bit of the storyline already which would be equally as hard as the first season. Just hoped we managed to get through this period in one piece as this was my biggest fear. Going into the kitchen I found my breakfast already waiting for me prepared by my doting boyfriend. Once finished we unloaded the dishwasher before getting ready for the car that was picking us up. 

The first couple of weeks after Richards birthday really went well while setting into the new rhythm in life that we were experiencing. There were moments we were both at home or sometimes he was there and then other times I would be there on my own. In the moments that we were living apart, we were leaving each other cute little notes around the house. When I was on  set we saw each other more so I was always very happy when I could be there that I didn’t mind the long hours we spent over. This meant that at least we were together and in between breaks we could catch up. He sometimes had one day off so I made sure I had finished all of my work so we could at least spend it together. This was either lying on the couch talking, watching something on tv or go outside for a run or a walk. The evenings that I was free but he was still filming or wasn’t feeling up too much I just went to the theater or cinema on my own if I wanted to do this. 

It was somewhere mid-August when everything started to shift between us, starting right after I had been summoned to the office to see Connor. One of the other assistants in the office had been laid off due to some big errors she had made and he offered me the job. It was a huge step up from being a PA but meant I wasn’t going to be working for Richard anymore that was going to be Elliott for now again. Downside was that I would be working full time in the office with flexible hours but on the other side it was a huge promotion and it meant they believed in me. I wanted to pass this by Richard first before saying yes to this offer as this was going to affect our future so he had a say in it. He had already arrived back from set just relaxing on the couch when I arrived at home. Walking over to him on the  couch, I kissed and sat next down next to him.

‘Sof, why were you called into the office? Is everything okay?’ He asked anxiously. He had seen my face when I had received the phone call.

‘Honey, no worry everything is fine. Connor asked me to come into the office to discuss something which I said I had to talk to you first.’

‘Baby, now you are really starting to worry me so just spit it out.’

‘Don’t know if you ever met Jeanine at the office? Well, she got fired due to some really big errors she made. Connor asked me if I wanted to take her place and become an assistant instead of PA.’

He hugged me ‘Sof, that is amazing news. Why wouldn’t you take this offer it is an amazing opportunity for you and your career. You shouldn’t have doubted about it and just accepted it straight away.’

‘Rich, the reason why I didn’t want to accept it straight away and wanted to talk with you is because this will change everything. I will no longer be your PA or deal with anything related to you, that will be temporary Elliotts job again until they have found a new PA. I’m going to work for a whole bunch of other clients now and a new boss too. I have met him  today, he is quite nice and seems easy to work with.  Plus I will have totally other working hours now too completely different from yours, we will hardly see each other anymore.’ I rambled.

‘Sof, breath just breath. This all sounds so overwhelming now but we will be fine I promise, we will find a solution for everything. I don’t mind Elliott taking over although I still want to keep you too as I’m used to how you work. But on the other side it is a huge promotion they are offering you too. Who am I to say you have to say no to this? I’m not going to keep you from accepting this opportunity. You are the only person who can decide what to do, all other things we can work on to find a solution.’

‘I know but I’m scared Richard really scared.’ I hugged him nearly clinging on for dear life.

‘Just sleep on it for a night sweetheart and decide tomorrow but know that I’m behind any decision you will take if you want to go for it or not.’

Falling asleep that night was difficult because I was constantly waying the pros and cons to taking this job though finally deciding to accept it as this was a once in a lifetime offer. I was only an assistant for now but I could work my way up to a higher position too. We were really strong as a couple, gone through already quite a bit so we could get through this too both my change of job and filming of Bodyguard. The next day I called Connor to accept his offer and to arrange my transfer to the office. 

I suspected that the first weeks in the new job would be challenging and I was right. Working long hours getting used to new tasks, programs, clients, the new way of working etc...  luckily I had Elliott to guide me through it explaining me everything. My new boss was also very patient with me, helping me find my place, being there for all of my questions basically being my mentor through this first period. As for my relationship that was even trickier than the new job as we didn’t seem to find any time to spend together really besides an hour or two every other evening or just seeing each other in bed if that even happened. Richard was on night shoots for Bodyguard with me working the day we sometimes just met when I got up and he went to sleep. We still tried to leave notes around the house, sending each other cute little texts and messages but the time in between started to take longer, sex hadn’t been on the cards. I hated it coming home to an empty house or a cold bed but we both knew it was for a limited time until Bodyguard had finished and I found my feet in my new job. 

** *** Richard *** **

Those first months of shooting were just a joy for me although the scenes were as challenging as during the first season but the difference was that I had Sofie with me. She was either with me on set or working from home but we always kept in touch. When she was with me during breaks, we just talked about work if there was any or just talk about anything, cracking some jokes that eased any tension from me. On my rare days off I just hung around the house: reading, watching television, talking or just being cuddled up to her was more than enough for me. On some nights she went out on her own to go to the theatre or cinema when she felt the need for it. She wasn’t pushing me at all to go out, meet friends or etc... just gave me my peace and quiet that I needed. Playing David Budd wasn’t easy, you just can’t shake him off or leave it on set as you just have to be in the zone the next day again.  Somehow she understood this was the process I went through and just let me go through it without any nagging. I loved it whenever I would find a sticky note on the fridge from her with a joke or a message whenever we couldn’t see each other. Or sending each other sugary text messages that would make a lot of people sick. When I saw her face the  moment she was called into the office by Connor I started to panic slightly as nothing had really gone wrong or to me at least there was no reason to call her in. When she got in that night and told the news that she got offered a new job with a big promotion I was so happy for her. She had been my rock during the Eternals press tour and encouraged me for that Australia project so why would I be against her taking this job. That night I started to think about all the things she had said that would affect us that I got an uneasy feeling about it. Now I couldn’t back down anymore from supporting her into taking the job so we just had to work it out between us. It just had to happen that we were going into a 3-week long night shoot schedule for Bodyguard when she started the new job. This meant we really weren’t seeing each other anymore just besides when we sometimes met up in bed. On my days off she was either working in the office or had to study at home. I saw that she was struggling too seeing how this new schedule was makings us slowly growing apart. The sticky notes were fewer and the messages started to become more practical than lovey  dovey . Sex had been a distant memory now as we just were both so knackered when we got to bed. Before even in busy  periods we made time for it but now it seemed like we couldn’t care less. Frankly I wasn’t opposed to it as my mind had been somewhere else.

We were advancing further into the story delving deep into the emotions, stress and anxieties of David and his family. I could feel it starting to take its toll on me knowing where this was going to lead too but not being able to help myself or crawl out of this mental state. Coming home I was starting to distance myself more and more from Sofie, pulling away from her staying in that Budd zone not being able to step out of it just because of the scenes we were shooting.  Often I would barely say anything anymore to her just retreating in my own little world preparing for the next day. I saw on her face that she was hurt by that but I didn’t really do much to take it away either. That fatal September day it had been an intense day of shooting packed full of heightened emotions, anxieties, anger when I went to the office to surprise her for late lunch but couldn’t find Sofie anywhere. Standing in the coffee break area I heard some people gossiping that they couldn’t just tell me she was out with her boss with whom she was really pretty close and intimate that they wondered if there wasn’t more happening between them. I normally wouldn’t listen to these rumors or believe them but my emotions were so high I couldn’t shake of this feeling of anger and agitation. On my way home I sent her a message asking her to come home straight away. While I was waiting for her to arrive, I could feel the tension rising in me near explosion point. 

** *** Sofie *** **

I could sense something was off by the tone of the text I got from Richard.

<<come home  now, need to talk<<

This wasn’t how he normally sent me text messages this short and demanding. I finished off my work as quickly as possible so I could rush back home. Entering the  house I felt goosebumps all over my body which didn’t go away as I saw Richard sitting on the couch. His jaw was clenched while he seemed to be even wanting to look at me, I took a seat next to him.

‘Rich, what is wrong? Your message was so short. Has something happened?’ I tried to lay my hand on his but he pulled away as he finally looked at me with ice cold blue eyes.

‘I can’t believe someone like you would do this! Not after the debacle that happened on your birthday.’

‘Me? What did I do wrong? My birthday what has that got do with this?’

‘Don’t be so coy with me  Sof . I came by the office this afternoon to surprise you for a late lunch but you weren’t even there. According to your very nice colleagues you were out with your boss with whom you have a rather cozy, intimate relationship with.’ As he  air quoted “cozy, intimate”

I was perplexed, not being able to say anything for a minute by this accusation.

‘What are you implying there Richard? That I’m sleeping with my boss then?’

‘Well, it isn’t with me you are sleeping at the moment. We hardly had any sex since weeks now.’ He said in such a cold tone that I got goosebumps all over again.

‘Really that is what you think? As if I would cheat on you with my boss who by the way is happily married just had a little baby. Don’t you know well enough now to know I hate cheating so why in the world would I do that to you then? The reason why my very nice colleagues mentioned this, is because they are jealous because I have only worked as a PA for a couple of months before getting the assistant’s job. But that hasn’t sunk into your thick skull that they might just said it out of spite and jealousy. As for the sex part you haven’t been home much either or try to instigate it so why am I the only one then having an affair. I could easily say the same for you.’

I could see a small change in his demeanor happening as my words were sinking in.

‘No, you just automatically assumed that what they implied, is also really happening. Remember last time that occurred when I thought you had something with Evi and I was so wrong. I would at least have thought you would give me the benefit of the doubt, just asked me first before accusing me of something I haven’t even done.’

The change from earlier went away as it went back to a frosty atmosphere between us.

‘Ask you? When would I have been able to ask you? You are never home anymore just working all the time or being in the office working overtime for that boss of yours.’

‘Quit the jealous act Richard it isn’t suiting you. I have just told you that nothing is happening and still you don’t seem to believe me. You want to know the reason why I’m working this much? I had to learn a lot of new things, get used to working this way, wanting to proof to the jealous ones that I got the job because of my qualities, not because you asked Connor to give to me. Because that is what they think that I got my job by sleeping with you and keeping it because I’m sleeping with my current boss apparently.’

‘Well, then quit the job if it makes you feel like that, ask Connor to put you back on as my PA.’

‘Oh really now just quit this job because of them or is it because you want me closer to you again?’

‘Wel...’

‘When I asked you if I should take the job and you supported me to go for it you just lied to me then?’ I was starting to get wired up. 

‘No, I wasn’t lying to you. I really was behind you at that point already knowing back then that this would happen. This whole new job would tear us apart, making us drift away from each other.’

‘ So this is all my fault then causing this rift between us because I took the job. Nothing to do with the fact that since maybe 6 weeks or so you have been closing yourself off from me both mentally and physically?’

‘I had warned you that Bodyguard asks a lot of me, that I wouldn’t be the easiest person to live with during this shoot. But you said don’t worry we will work on it and make it through. I see now how far we are making it.’

‘I knew that Bodyguard would be though you had warned me but never did I think that you wouldn’t even want to make a connection with me anymore. The rare times we are both home we hardly talk, don’t cuddle, not even have dinner anymore together. I feel like I’m living with a stranger in the same house not with my boyfriend. It is not the fact that you bring David Budd home because I totally understand you can’t just switch him off like that. It is the fact you don’t open up to me or don’t even try that is hurting the most. I just don’t know what is going around in your head anymore.’

‘Trust me you don’t want to know what goes on in my mind.’ He sighed.

‘How can I if you don’t let me determine that for myself. I'm stronger than you might think to deal with this. Just talk to me is all I’m asking.’

‘Stronger! You! The one who can hardly look at herself in a mirror because you think you are unattractive not even worthy for me to love her. If you were strong then you would have a lot more of self-confidence than this.'

I felt like I had been smacked in the face.

‘Isn’t that the pot blaming the kettle then? I can clearly remember all the times during that press tour when I was there for you. You were the one who kissed me first just to kiss another woman hours later to have it splashed all over the newspapers.’

The moment I said it I knew I went too far with this comment as he exploded.

‘You had to throw that one back into my face now did you. If you hadn’t blamed the kiss on the alcohol, just admitted you had feelings for me than the paparazzi thing wouldn’t have happened. You know how much I was hurt by that.

‘You’re right I’m sorry...’ I tried when he just interrupted me.

‘Sorry won’t make it go away now. It is clear you don’t have any faith in me anymore.’ He sighed.

‘Me not having any faith in you? How about the other way around? Who just accused me of having an affair? Stop being paranoid for nothing Richard. It seems like you have just given up on us like you don’t even want to fight anymore.’

‘What gave you that idea that I had given up? If I didn’t want to fight anymore then I wouldn’t have asked you to come and talk now do I.’ I was met by an  ice-cold blue gaze.

‘You call this talking? It is more you accusing me of things and I’m just denying it. This isn’t you at all Richard or not the person who I fell in love with anyway. This part has taken over you, slowly making you change into him.’

‘Maybe this is just me being the real me for once.’

‘No this is not the real you believe me. The real you  is this much kinder, softer, gentle person who I have been living with for the past 8 months not this moody, broody jerk you are being right now. Nobody can keep up this pretense for this long.’

‘Nobody is perfect you can now stop believing in those fairytales my dear. Or do you think I wanted a girlfriend who can’t see how amazing she is, has such a low self-esteem that she avoids the mirror, hardly believes in herself or her qualities. Someone who is ashamed for her own body, for the scar she has but shows the strength she had to deal with her disease. Or that I’m jumping for joy in the prospect that if we would like to have kids, we need to use a surrogate cause you aren’t allowed get pregnant. I’m not the  romeo type of person that everyone believes me to be. That person is gone, if he ever existed anyway. Maybe it was all in your romantic childish brain. You’re just like the rest of them, making up stories not handling the real world. This isn’t worth my energy, you’re not worth it.’

I felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest, trampled on and put back into my chest breaking in a thousand pieces. I couldn’t capture that the man sitting in front of me was the same Richard anymore. I just couldn’t stay there anymore as my survivor instinct just took over. Getting up off the couch I went upstairs to our bedroom, took out one of my suitcases started to fill it up with all the things I could think of that I needed. I quickly opened up booking.com trying to find a hotel to spend the night in before I was going back home tomorrow, I just couldn’t stay in London any longer. I dragged my packed suitcase down the stairs, putting it in the hall while I went back in the sitting room to take my handbag and my laptop bag. Richard was still sitting in the same position as where I had left him, he didn’t even look up at me or tried to stop me from leaving him. 

Keeping it together as much as I could I said with a broken voice ‘I will get the rest of my things later. Goodbye Richard Madden.’

Gathering my  suitcase I closed the door behind me of the house that had been my home for so long now, got in a taxi who I gave the address of my hotel trying to hold it  all together . 

** *** Richard *** **

When Sofie got home I still had this internal anger penned up inside of me waiting to explode any moment now. I don’t know where I had come up with this phantom idea that she was cheating on me even though deep down I knew that was bollocks. Somehow my state of mind had gone this far into believing gossip going around in an office building. I trusted her with my life but at this point of time the paranoia took over as I saw things that weren’t there.  Yes we hadn’t spent much time together this past few weeks but that wasn’t an excuse for it either. When she mentioned me closing off from her, I knew she was right because I had done this not deliberately but it just had happened. I felt like I couldn’t add an extra burden to her knowing how hard she had been working already. But by doing this I just pushed her away from me. There was much truth in what she was saying but I just couldn’t hear it. Feeling like she was just pushing the right buttons making me see red than when she mentioned the LA fiasco I just exploded, spewing out things I wouldn’t say normally or even think at all. I just felt the need to give her the final push as this would be the end result anyway once this shoot would end. So why not do it now choose for the short pain and be over with all at once instead of waiting even longer. I could see her getting hurt by every single word I was saying, hating myself for doing this but I just couldn’t stop. When I finally stopped, I couldn’t even look at myself let alone her so I turned away. I could hear her going upstairs, getting what I suspected to be her suitcase. I just wanted to go upstairs, cradle her in my arms and beg her for forgiveness for all of the stupid things I had said but I just couldn’t physically move. Hearing her broken voice say those final words especially when she said ‘Goodbye Richard Madden’, I could feel my own heart shattering to a million pieces as I knew this was final and I had lost her forever. I had only one person to blame for this and this was myself. I’ve made my bed so I had to lied in it. I don’t know how long I had been sitting there like that but it was dark when I finally snapped out of it. Turning on the radio to make the house feel less empty I made myself a double whisky before returning to the couch. As if they had sensed  it, they started to play Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes whose lyrics summed up how I was feeling that exact moment, hitting me so hard in the chest I started to cry as I realized that I just had let go of the love of my live without even a single fight like the coward that I was.

_Don't leave me this way_   
_I can't survive, I can't stay alive_   
_Without you love_   
_Don't leave me this way, no_   
_I can't exist, I will surely miss_   
_Your tender kiss_   
_Don't leave me this way, no_   
_Don't leave me this way, no_   
_I'm broken man with empty hands, oh baby please, please_   
_Don't leave me this way_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone reading this story. As you can see there is one chapter left so will they or won't they get together? 
> 
> For some the part in the fight about the kids is from my own experience (you see I bare myself to you all) as I wanted to show it is not always that easy.


End file.
